The NY Daily News reports on the case, and links to CBS News and the Hartford Courant. (H/T Robert Stacy McCain)
Excerpt:
The case of a same-sex Connecticut couple accused of repeatedly raping and abusing two of their nine adopted boys is headed for trial.
Married couple George Harasz and Douglas Wirth of Glastonbury were supposed to be sentenced Friday in Hartford Superior Court under a plea deal, but instead withdrew from their agreement with prosecutors. The men had already pleaded no contest in January to one felony count each of risk of injury to a minor — a reduction from even more serious charges related to sexual assault.
[…]Harasz and Wirth adopted nine children — three sets of male siblings — beginning in 2000, and ran a home-based dog breeding business called The Puppy Guy.
The couple was arrested in November 2011 following a police and state investigation of sex-abuse allegations. The children were removed from the home.
Police said two boys, ages 5 and 15, accused Harasz of sexually assaulting them. Harasz was initially facing first-degree sexual assault and other charges, while Wirth had been charged with third-degree sexual assault of the 15-year-old boy.
Their arrest warrants claimed the couple not only sexually and physically abused the children, but also forced them to sleep in closets.
[…]One of the victims who spoke during the court hearing said sexual assault began when he was 6.
“They took turns raping me over and over,” he said.
Now, a lot of these rape accusations turn out to be false, so we don’t really know if anyone is guilty until the trial concludes. But I’ve posted before about other trials that did conclude, so that you know that these things are in fact happening. In fact this case is very similar to the case where the Duke University official was offering his 5-year-old adopted son for sex on the Internet.
As tragic and disgusting as this story is, I always appreciate the constant, up-to-date news stories you bring to your blog followers’ attention, WK!
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Unfortunately, these types of stories will always be dismissed as aberrations, which they most likely are. However, if either of these guys were, say, Catholic priests, there would be hell to pay (no pun intended).
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Not even remotely surprised. Reality is much different from TV.
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This is repulsive, to say the least. Yet, we cannot ignore the fact that such also happens with heterosexual couples, not only with their adopted children, but also, at times, tragically, with their own, whether by one parent, or both. I do not know the ratio, nor the statistics, but it does happen.
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It’s very true, but I still thought it was good to report on THIS story.
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Oh, I agree, and good for you. I’m glad you did. You are one of my resources for good news!
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This is so sad and wrong if it all turns out to be factual. Over time I wonder if there would be more statistics for non-heterosexual adoption.
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Sadly, the only thing that will be said about this case (if news of it even gets out to the general public) is that “Heterosexuals do it too.”
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What “thing” more would you like said?
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