What people do for money! Unbelievable!
@honeydew82174 (1720)
United States
July 16, 2008 11:42am CST
A woman who lied to adopt 11 disabled children whom authorities say she abused while she raked in more than $1 million in subsidies was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 11 years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman said Judith Leekin engaged in "a heartless, dangerous money-driven scheme" when she used fake names and lies about the children to defraud social service agencies in New York City and New York state.
Leekin, 63, has been accused of treating the children like prisoners, subjecting them to beatings and handcuffs while they stayed in a locked room without food, depriving them of medical and dental care and not sending them to school. Authorities said the children were so physically and emotionally abused they can never recover.
My goodness, All that money and the hag can't give them any food! Caring for the disabled is hard work! Not a cake walk. This is one of the saddest stories I have read in along time. to abuse someone so badly they can never recover is beyond me. I think it is horrible she only got 11yrs. Those kids got a life sentence.3 people like this
19 responses
@mtrekster (179)
• United States
17 Jul 08
i think that woman ought to be sent to jail for life, or shot.
she affected those kids to where they are going to have life long problems, and she gets off that light?
NUTS!
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
It is a light sentence! I think she will get what is coming to her. They don't like child abusers in prison.
@raclie (1732)
• Singapore
17 Jul 08
wow...
that is really selfish of her!!!
having a foster brother who was abused when he was young really makes me understand how the kids may be feeling....
well...
not really...
but i will know why they cannot fight...
i cannot beleive that disgusting woman!!!
she is so heartless!!!
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
Poor kids were defenseless. It just breaks your heart!
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Jul 08
hi honeydew82174 I would have given her a lot longer sentence
after what she did to those poor kids, just for money, and she'ruined their young lives.it will take a lot of mental therahy to try to restore these kids.She must have been shy of a few marbles to do such cruel things to disabled kids like that. what a heartless monster, they should have sentenced her to life. what she really needs is to be checked for mental illness and maybe put into a mental ward. somethiing has to be wrong to make a woman do things like that. most women have some maternal instincts but not her.
@RedFeather (427)
• United States
17 Jul 08
one year per child?
how about one year per child, per year they were with her
multiplied by the types of abuse that they all had to endure, plus having to pay back everything that was given to her that she cannot verify with receipts that it was for the children -
i know, i know - good thing that crazy RedFeather isn't a judge or a prosecutor
problem is - we can be pretty sure that this is just one of probably THOUSANDS that are out there - this nice lady was just lucky enough to get famous
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
I agree with you. One year per child is not much what about all the suffering those kids did all the years they were with her! I know she is not the only one. How people can be so cruel is beyond me!
@blackmantra_x (2732)
• Philippines
17 Jul 08
This is sad..Only 11 years, that's 1 year for each disabled child she abused, Is that justice? while the 11 children will carry those scars beyond recovery for the rest of their lives. Punishment should fit the crime, A life sentence should have been appropriate.
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
I think life in prison to! Judges are handing out light sentence for some of the most awful crimes while some petty criminal gets life in prison. I do not understand our justice system.
@reckon21 (3479)
• Philippines
17 Jul 08
God, i hate that woman. She had no right to treat the children like that. She should get a life sentence in jail or be hang. I personally want her in the electric chair. Asking forgiveness over and over again won't take away the horrible
ways she treated those kids. I just wonder why she was able to hide the real situation from the authorities for so long. They should check periodically the children. Once or twice every month. To secure their safety and well being. I hope and pray to God this wont happen again.
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
I do not think they could check on them because she adopted them and then they had no reason to! It does seem kinda weird she adopted 11 and no one seen any thing! I am guessing they thought she was a saint for being so kind and adopting disabled children. Boy did she fool them.
@ruby222 (4847)
•
17 Jul 08
It is indeed very sad,but the depths that some will stoop to for money is beyond belief,there are many here in the UK that do similar things to defraud the system.They must have a reasonable amount of intelligence to think uo all the web of deceit that they spin,but they also must have very good emeories,if you are going to tell whopping great fibs then a good memory is a must!We have had many cases such as people owning vast houses and running huge expensive cars,but still claiming money from the government to live on..im not sure how they have the guts to do all of this,it would petrify me.
@katsmeow1213 (28716)
• United States
16 Jul 08
I'm with you. She should be locked up for life. How selfish can a person be?
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
16 Jul 08
She ruined those kids all for the almighty dollar! Makes me sick!
@baileycows (3665)
• United States
16 Jul 08
This is really sad, but why did it take them so long to find out. Seems like the government should have been paying more attention.
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
16 Jul 08
You would think someone would have seen some thing! I wonder why no one caught on sooner! Poor kids probably could not speak for themselves. @relundad (2310)
• United States
17 Jul 08
May she rot in hell, on a slow simmer! People like her don't last long in prison any way, especially when kids are involved. At her age I am sure 11 years are gonna seem like forever. I'm wondering why none of her friends and family knew about how she treated them and spoke it. I think they are just as guilty if they knew. This is a horrendous case!
@redkathy (3374)
• United States
16 Jul 08
I can not understand or event think a single thought that would be comparable to what this woman has done. To use children as a meal ticket... Horrible. And I agree with you on the eleven years. I think she should get life, at the very least if she is found guilty. After all she terrorized eleven lives and live 63 of hers already. Wow Satan really is alive and well among us!
@kbjunior15 (1309)
• United States
16 Jul 08
Wow. That is horrible. Our justice system is very screwed up. The are so far gone that they will never be able to recover. She should not ever have the chance to recover either. Prison will be hard on her though. Even the worst criminals hate the ones that do crimes against kids. She'll get what's coming. Either in jail or when she meets her maker
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
You are right she will get what is coming to her! I do not think they like child abuser s in prison.
@TAYSON0076 (214)
• Egypt
16 Jul 08
i think there is lots of people do not take breakfast cuz they wanna to save some money for the gas i wish some one make the gas lower price
@honeydew82174 (1720)
• United States
17 Jul 08
what does gas have to do with kids getting beaten and neglected?
@planejane (188)
•
16 Jul 08
This is just AWFUL! Eleven years does seem like a light sentence compared to how those children were treated. Wow. I just don't know what to say.
@littlepinoy (600)
• Philippines
17 Jul 08
That's cruel! may she burn in hell.
How was she able to acquire those sum of money through fake names and stuffs anyway?
@bamakelly (5191)
• United States
16 Jul 08
Yes, I do agree that is a horrible story. There is a lot more out there where that came from. There are things going on out there like the abuse you wrote about that isn't reported and we don't even know about it. That is the sad part. You're right. That kind of abuse that was endured by these children is appalling and will stay in their minds forever. It usually does when it happens to you as a child. The worst part of it all is the fact that these children were disabled. Just awful!
@nasohail3 (355)
• India
17 Jul 08
yaa this illigale for money now a days lot of people are lying and doing froud business and doing like that for that the government has must gave seviour panishment then the other person will not do this illigale thing i hate people who speak always lying they will not success in life with lie be confident and be truth this is myy slogan
