Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 11, 1990 TAG: 9004110587
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A/1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO LENGTH: Medium
The couple, who rejected 11-year-old Rick because they said he wouldn't "bond" with them, have refused for three months to allow the boys to see each other.
The issue became public when the adoptive parents were sued earlier this month by Cook County Public Guardian Patrick Murphy.
Rick - not his real name - was told of the meeting on Monday at the foster home where he lives.
"He's very, very happy about it," Murphy said Tuesday. "But the next thing he said was, `When is the next visit?' At this point we have to say, `We don't know.' "
Rick's 9-year-old brother is still living with the suburban Bellwood couple.
Murphy said the couple's concession for a single visit is cruel. "One visit doesn't mean anything," he said. Rick "can't go through the rest of his life wondering when he will be allowed to see his brother again."
The boys have been permitted three visits and three telephone conversations after the couple took Rick to the orphanage in November, more than five years after they adopted the boys. The last visit was shortly after Christmas.
The couple, identified in court papers as Pamela and Joseph Doe, adopted the brothers in August 1984. The state took the boys from their natural mother because she was accused of abusing them.
The county is seeking a court order compelling the couple to allow the boys to visit each other. It also seeks $50,000 for alleged emotional distress to Rick.
by CNB