Christian Couple Who Lost Adopted Sons to Gov't Gets Case Reopened
A Christian couple in the U.K. who had their two adopted sons removed from their care by government officials in 2014, due to abuse allegations, were allowed to appeal the decision Tuesday after it was revealed portions of the allegations against them were fabricated.
A release from the Christian Legal Centre, which is supporting the couple's case, said the adoptive parents, given the aliases John and Mary Brown to protect their identity, legally adopted the boys in 2013. The boys, identified by the aliases Dan and Tom, had been living with the couple since 2010.
Mary, who is reportedly in her early 60s, wanted to help the older boy and his brother because she had learned he suffered harm prior to knowing him. They boys were still in primary (elementary) school at the time they moved in with the couple.
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Although the boys had behavioral issues due to their traumatic past, Mary, a former teacher, and her husband were trained to deal with them.
Tom, the older brother, according to the release, had issues with going to school and was worried about taking a required exam because he was struggling academically. One morning in May 2014 as Mary was driving the boys school for Tom to take his SATs tests he reached for the steering wheel and Mary pushed him back.
When Tom got to school, according to the release, he linked the incident with fabrications in an account of what happened in the car to new school officials. The officials called the police and social workers who took them from their adoptive parents instantly. The boys are now living separately but their adoptive parents have been fighting for 20 months to get them back.
"Inside, you feel grey — every day. … I didn't wash their bed sheets for several weeks, because I could still smell them," said Mary.
The Browns charge that social workers did not have an appreciation for their Christian parenting methods and at a hearing last January a judge took the opinions of the social workers as truth.
"We have been unable to expose the gross injustice in this case because of the secrecy surrounding the family courts. This case is the tip of the iceberg. These wonderful parents have been greatly disrespected. The state seemed not to treat them as parents because they were adoptive parents. The objective evidence of the boys' progress over years seems to have been dismissed. Such a flimsy rationale for the removal of children from a loving home is appalling," said Andrea Williams, the Christian Legal Centre's chief executive.
Watch the video below to hear from the adoptive parents.
