Family Forum / Parenting / Adoption / August 2005

First we get Ken Blackwell.  The Bob Taft.  Now we have this happy family.
Can it get any moe fun in Ohio?  Here's what's happening in my hometown!
These 2 sound like they deserve each other.  I'd bet anything he was adopted
of the state at a later age.  I relally like the part about cutting
themselves.

Marley

http://www2.cantonrep.com/printable.php?ID=238886

Mom reportedly having sex with adopted son
By SHANE HOOVER Repository staff writer

CANTON - A magistrate removed a 17-year-old boy from the home of a
Washington Township couple Tuesday after hearing allegations that the boy
was having sex with his mother.

Stark County sheriff's deputies and social workers found the woman and her
adopted son living in the Super 8 motel in Alliance on Thursday, according
to the custody complaint filed by the Stark County Department of Job &
Family Services.

According to the complaint:

The father told investigators that his wife and son had been living at the
hotel for about a week. He said they were having sex, and turned over
e-mails and other materials that indicated a consensual relationship lasting
for several weeks.

The mother and son also drank alcohol and cut themselves during their stay
at the motel, the complaint says.

When questioned by investigators, the mother admitted to having sex with her
son once during an alcoholic blackout, the complaint says.

"It's the weirdest thing. We're just two needy people. He really loves me.
When he turns 18, he wants to marry me," she told investigators, according
to the complaint.

The son initially denied having sex with his mother, but later told a doctor
about the relationship when he was hospitalized after expressing suicidal
thoughts, the complaint says.

The mother has not been charged criminally in connection with the case.

She and her husband have temporarily closed their Fun On the Farm day-care
center at 3766 S. Union Ave., which is also their house.

"She denies the allegations and looks forward to having her day in court,"
the mother's attorney, Rick Pitinii, said.

The father's attorney, David Smith, said he's not really sure how
investigators ended up at the motel. He said he wants to see if there's
evidence that supports the stories.

"I hate to say it, but this may be a case where we have screwed up kids,"
Smith said.

The couple has six children, ages 5 to 17, living with them, according to
the complaint. Four of those children are adopted, said Randy Muth, a Job &
Family Services attorney. They have a daughter living in Pennsylvania and
another son who is an adult, Muth said.

On Tuesday, Stark County Family Court Chief Magistrate Sally A. Efremoff put
the 17-year-old boy named in the complaint in the custody of the county
agency. The couple has said they do not want him to return to their home.

The other children are out of the home and will remain with relatives and
friends, where they have been since last week.

The father retains custody and can visit them, but they cannot live with him
until he completes a psychological evaluation. The mother is temporarily
barred from seeing any of the children.

Muth said the investigation is continuing. The couple's daughter in
Pennsylvania has said she was a victim of physical, emotional and sexual
abuse while living in her parents' home, according to the complaint.

The 17-year-old boy is expected to be released soon from the hospital, Muth
said. He said the case is not about a teenager fulfilling some fantasy about
an older woman.

"There seems to be a perception that a mother having sex with a son is not
as bad as a father having sex with a daughter," Muth said. "This case, in
sharp focus, shows that is certainly not true. There are horrible
ramifications when the lines between parent and lover get blurred."

You can reach Repository writer Shane Hoover at (330) 580-8338 or e-mail: