Were the girls possessed by demons? Or were the Harris' just ill-equipped to deal with their special needs?
The sad, strange saga of Arkansas Rep. Justin Harris continues to spiral as more information has come to light. Those in their community who spent time with the girls say the Harrises believed the middle daughter, who was 4 years old at the time she entered the Harris house,
was possessed by demons:
Chelsey Goldsborough, who regularly babysat for the Harrises, said Mary was kept isolated from Annie and from the rest of the family. She was often confined for hours to her room, where she was monitored by a video camera. The reason: The Harrises believed the girls were possessed by demons and could communicate telepathically, Goldsborough said. Harris and his wife once hired specialists to perform an "exorcism" on the two sisters while she waited outside the house with the boys, she said.
The
Arkansas Times changed the children's names for the purposes of the article. "Mary" is the middle daughter, who was 4 years old when she entered the Harris house and was subsequently raped after the Harrises "re-homed" her and the youngest sibling, "Annie." The Harrises said the move was necessary because the girls were violent and they feared for their three older boys. They also claim a DHS representative threatened to
charge them with abandonment if they turned the girls back to DHS. Outraged by these statements, Craig and Cheryl Hart, the former foster family for the two youngest girls, are speaking out:
Craig Hart objected strongly to Harris' implication that the girls were dangerous. "Our friends, our neighbors, our church — we can get as many character witnesses as you want for those girls," he said. "And also, they're both small children for their age. Unless he gave them guns, they weren't dangerous."
The couple who ended up adopting both girls are also speaking out:
"We are aware of the very public conversation going on about events pertaining to our daughters," they said in an email to the Times. "We are deeply grieved over Justin Harris' accusations toward our daughters in order to self-protect; it is inexcusable. Like the Harts, we also have two small dogs and the girls have only been gentle towards them. These girls are happy, healthy children who have gone through things no child should ever have to endure. Since they have been home with us, they have adjusted beautifully and are thriving in our home with unconditional love and patience.
The
Arkansas Times has done an
incredibly extensive piece outlining how unusual the adoption process was from the get-go. We are again left with more questions than answers. And while DHS representatives continue to say they cannot comment on specific adoption cases, it is time for Cecile Blucker to start answering questions—did she direct officials to approve the adoption? Did Rep. Justin Harris threaten to withhold funding of her department (as is alleged) if she didn't approve the adoption? When did she learn that the Harrises had re-homed the girls?
The good news is that all three girls appear to be in homes better suited to their specific needs, but as more information comes to light, they never should've been in the Harris home to begin with and it is time for DHS to come clean on the whole sad, sordid affair.
For more community discussion, see Buckeye BattleCry's diary here.