This week we learned Arkansas Rep. Justin Harris and his wife adopted
two girls and then "rehomed" them to a man who would go on to rape one of them. And now, this story gets
more sad by the minute:
The Arkansas Times has learned that Rep. Justin Harris and his wife Marsha adopted a third girl in addition to the two children who were the focus of this week's cover story about rehoming — an older sister.
We've been told she was about 8 years old upon entering the Harris home in 2012 along with her younger siblings. Unlike the two girls in our previous story, she evidently left the Harris household long before the adoption was finalized.
Rep. Harris posted on Facebook about the three girls joining their home in September 2012, but then:
Soon thereafter, though, references to the third girl disappear from Harris's social media. Another reputable source says the third girl reentered DHS custody sometime later in 2012; the same source confirmed with the Times that the third sister (like the middle girl who was the focus of our cover story) had been subjected to sexual abuse in her original home prior to entering foster care, and that she had substantial behavioral problems associated with such a background. The source also tells us that the girl has since been adopted by another family and is now in good hands, although no other details were provided.
So, why didn't the Harris' send the other two girls back to DHS instead of giving them away? For now, more questions than answers. He was supposed to hold a press conference on Friday afternoon, but no word on when it is scheduled.
And Arkansas Times reports that the Arkansas Democratic Party is already calling for his resignation:
“As a parent and grandparent, like many Arkansans, I am shocked to learn of Rep. Justin Harris's egregious action of placing two girls he adopted through DHS directly into harm’s way by sending them to stay with another family without approval from the adoption agency. This action directly lead to the rape of the six-year-old girl who Rep. Harris is responsible for and even received government funding to care for through the foster care system.
There are also other issues that need to be raised here. First, the children. The idea that someone could use the foster care system to treat their adopted children like basketballs, tossing them from family to family is horrible. Then, you have an elected leader who represents an antigovernment agenda; yet, he makes his living off of government funding. This is hypocrisy at its highest level.
This is a continuation of an alarming pattern that continues with several Arkansas legislators. We believe that if Arkansas families were aware of this; they would be as appalled as well. While his resignation certainly would not change these atrocities, Justin Harris has proven that he is not fit to hold the responsibility of writing our laws, and we hope that Gov. Hutchinson and Speaker Gillam will agree that Harris's resignation is necessary.
The full statement is available
here. Kudos to the
Arkansas Times for bringing this story to light and staying on it.
2:25 PM PT: Update: Rep. Justin Harris held a brief press conference. The Arkansas Times summarizes:
He spoke for the first time of the third sister, which we reported earlier today. He said the state Department of Human Services had insisted that the Harris family take in that child if he was to adopt two younger sisters as he hoped. She was a danger to his family, he said, and ultimately placed elsewhere. The younger sisters, too, proved a problem. One "crushed" a small animal he said. He said he had his older sons sleep with him out of fear.
The most explosive charge by Harris was that he DID seek DHS assistance before giving the children to another family, but was met only with a threat of child abandonment charges
And:
He took only three questions. He said he could prove that he had passed state subsidy checks to the Eric Francis family. Francis is serving a 40-year sentence for sexually abusing one of the children Harris placed in that family's care. Harris defended Francis, as he has to us before, as having a clean record. He wouldn't identify the DHS employee who allegedly threatened him. Harris was asked if he really believed DHS would charge him with abandonment had he tried to relinquish the children to the state. He said he believed what he'd been told.
The
Arkansas Times will have video of the press conference available on their website soon. Click
here for that video and further updates.