Huger couple accused of international adoption scheme to appear in Federal Court Thursday

Charleston, SC The couple accused of trying to smuggle a baby out of Japan is set to appear before a federal judge Thursday.

Stephanie Jean Locker and Gerald Vincent Locker, Jr. are set for arraignment  at 9:45 AM in Charleston Courtroom #5, U. S. Court House on Broad Street before Magistrate Judge Bristow Marchant.

More >> Huger couple accused of international adoption scheme to appear in Federal Court Thursday

SC couple accused of falsifying overseas adoption documents to appear in court Thursday

The Huger couple accused of falsifying overseas adoption documents is expected to appear in court Thursday morning.

The U.S. Department of Justice says Stephanie Jean Locker and Gerald Vincent Locker Jr. tried to get around overseas adoption rules by telling immigration officials a baby they adopted in the Philippines was their biological child.

More >> SC couple accused of falsifying overseas adoption documents to appear in court Thursday

Evangelical foster care agency expands program to include Catholics amid lawsuit over state funding

An evangelical Christian nonprofit that is South Carolina's largest adoption agency and only places children with Christian families recently announced its decision to expand its foster program to include Catholics.

Earlier this month, Miracle Hill Ministries announced that it was officially clarifying that Roman Catholics who affirm the nonprofit’s statement of faith can serve as foster parents or employees.

More >> Evangelical foster care agency expands program to include Catholics amid lawsuit over state funding

SC couple accused of falsifying overseas adoption documents

The U.S. Department of Justice says a South Carolina couple tried to get around overseas adoption rules by telling immigration officials a baby they adopted in the Philippines was their biological child.

The State reports federal prosecutors indicted 24-year-old Stephanie Jean Locker and 46-year-old Gerald Vincent Locker Jr. on charges of conspiracy and making false statements in a passport application.

More >> SC couple accused of falsifying overseas adoption documents

Pickens courthouse bomb suspect denied bond; more explosives found at DSS, in vehicle

The man accused of detonating two homemade bombs outside of the Pickens County Courthouse Sunday night will remain in custody following a federal court hearing Wednesday morning.

Michael Lambert Seabrooke will be held at the Spartanburg County jail without bond until his preliminary hearing that is scheduled for Monday, according to federal prosecutors.

More >> Pickens courthouse bomb suspect denied bond; more explosives found at DSS, in vehicle

Pickens courthouse bomb suspect denied bond; more explosives found at DSS, in vehicle

The man accused of detonating two homemade bombs outside of the Pickens County Courthouse Sunday night will remain in custody following a federal court hearing Wednesday morning.

Michael Lambert Seabrooke will be held at the Spartanburg County jail without bond until his preliminary hearing that is scheduled for Monday, according to federal prosecutors.

More >> Pickens courthouse bomb suspect denied bond; more explosives found at DSS, in vehicle

Greenville foster parent molested another child in his care, deputies say

A former Greenville foster parent charged earlier this year with criminal sexual conduct with a minor is now accused of molesting a young boy, according to Lt. Ryan Flood with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

In March, Darrell Girardeau, 66, was arrested on two counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, warrants said.

More >> Greenville foster parent molested another child in his care, deputies say

Civil rights groups sue over Trump foster care policies

Civil rights groups are filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration and the state of South Carolina, alleging the governments are making it easier for taxpayer-funded adoption and foster care agencies to discriminate against same-sex and non-evangelical couples.

Thursday’s lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Lambda Legal was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on behalf of a married lesbian couple. Eden Rogers and Brandy Welch were turned away by Miracle Hill Ministries, South Carolina’s largest state-contracted, federally-funded foster care agency.

More >> Civil rights groups sue over Trump foster care policies

Greenville couple sues Trump administration and SC governor over foster-care practice

President Donald Trump’s administration, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster and the state Department of Social Services face a federal lawsuit filed by a married lesbian couple over the religious exemption granted to Miracle Hill Ministries that allows the organization to exclude prospective foster parents who aren’t evangelical Protestant Christians or don’t meet the organization’s religious policies, including same-sex couples.

Eden Rogers, 33, and Brandy Welch, 40, a Greenville couple who have been married for three years and have two daughters, ages 7 and 10, said their application to foster through Miracle Hill in Greenville was rejected based on their religion and their sexual orientation. They are members of Greenville Unitarian Universalist Church.

More >> Greenville couple sues Trump administration and SC governor over foster-care practice

• South Carolina lesbian couple sues after foster agency turns them away

What Happens When Judges Police Themselves In Secret? Not Much

Over the past two decades, more than 1,000 ethics complaints have been lodged against South Carolina judges who handle the state’s major cases in circuit court.

Beyond mere courtroom disputes, the complaints contain serious concerns about abuse of office, including allegations of influence peddling or judges mishandling conflicts of interest.

More >> What Happens When Judges Police Themselves In Secret? Not Much

Child sexually abused while in DSS care awarded $534,000

A boy who was sexually abused while in a group home run by the South Carolina Department of Social Services has been awarded $534,000 in damages.

A federal jury in the United States District Court in Spartanburg returned a verdict Friday in favor of the child.

More >> Child sexually abused while in DSS care awarded $534,000

Foster dad to 30 kids molested at least one of them — and maybe more, SC cops say

A South Carolina man who has been a foster parent to “roughly 30 children” was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexually abusing a foster child multiple times, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said.

On Feb. 20, the sheriff’s office began investigating Darrell Girardeau after learning of allegations that he had “inappropriate physical contact ... with a child under the age of 16,” according to a news release.

More >> Foster dad to 30 kids molested at least one of them — and maybe more, SC cops say

Group that reconnects SC fathers to their children seeking $1.6M

Facing a third, one-year stint in jail for missing child support payments, Frederick Hogsett Jr. received a lifeline from the judge instead.

Rather than going back to jail — or getting a second sentence to wear an ankle bracelet monitor — Hogsett was ordered to participate in a program that works to get fathers involved in their children’s lives through job training, free legal help, counseling, parental classes, and even mediation with the mom if needed.

More >> Group that reconnects SC fathers to their children seeking $1.6M

SC lawmakers reject millions for Social Services to hire child caseworkers

When South Carolina’s 124 state representatives take up the state’s $9.3 billion proposed budget in two weeks, it will not include $44.5 million requested to hire and retain Social Services caseworkers to oversee child-abuse cases.

Legislators have become increasingly frustrated with the state Department of Social Services — currently without a permanent director — as it struggles to retain and hire caseworkers. The agency also has been unable to answer legislators’ questions, including how many children in its custody died last year, lawmakers complain.

More >> SC lawmakers reject millions for Social Services to hire child caseworkers

SC parents work to reconnect with toddler son after child abuse probe pulled them apart

Foxx was just 2 months old when the state Department of Social Services whisked him away in May 2017 after a variety of broken bones in his body led to suspicions of child abuse. Then, a judge unexpectedly returned him to his parents Wednesday after a medical expert testified that the boy’s injuries resulted from a bone-weakening case of nutritional rickets, not physical abuse.

More >> SC parents work to reconnect with toddler son after child abuse probe pulled them apart

SC toddler returned to parents after judge finds no merit to abuse allegations

A young boy seized from his Johns Island home during a 2017 abuse investigation is back with his parents after a medical expert convinced a Charleston County judge the child’s multiple broken bones resulted from a case of rickets, according to attorneys for the family.

Rickets results from an extreme deficiency of vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium. It causes children to have soft, weak or deformed bones. And that’s what led to more than a dozen fractures throughout the boy’s infant body that sparked authorities’ suspicions and tore the family apart for nearly two years, their attorneys said.

More >> SC toddler returned to parents after judge finds no merit to abuse allegations

Miracle Hill gets religious exemption to provide foster care in SC despite complaints

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday granted Greenville-based Miracle Hill Ministries an exemption to continue its faith-based foster care program that works only with Christians.

Miracle Hill has been operating its program for decades, but its recruiting policy came under scrutiny after the Obama administration implemented a new regulation for federal funding recipients shortly before the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The regulation prohibits groups receiving federal funding from discriminating on the basis of religion.


More >> Miracle Hill gets religious exemption to provide foster care in SC despite complaints

9-year-old girl in foster care sexually assaulted

Myrtle Beach Police arrested Jeffrey Darrin Ward, 57, for first degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor on November 29th.

According to the police warrant, Ward sexually assaulted a 9-year-old girl in foster care while living at the Oasis motel.

More >> 9-year-old girl in foster care sexually assaulted

South Carolina foster parent forced child to wear electric dog collar, police say

Police in South Carolina say a foster parent made a six-year-old wear an electric dog collar and abused the child with a spoon-like object.

News outlets report that 61-year-old Deborah Ann Jarrell of Myrtle Beach was arrested Wednesday and charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

More >> South Carolina foster parent forced child to wear electric dog collar, police say

Police: Foster parent made child wear electric dog collar

Police in South Carolina say a foster parent made a 6-year-old wear an electric dog collar and abused the child with a spoon-like object.

News outlets report that 61-year-old Deborah Ann Jarrell of Myrtle Beach was arrested Wednesday and charged with unlawful neglect of a child.

More >> Police: Foster parent made child wear electric dog collar