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Aug 16, 2007 3:18 pm US/Eastern
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Florida Judge Wants N.Y. Adoption Records
Says They Are Relevant To Leekin Abuse Case
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) ―
A New York judge must decide whether to unseal confidential adoption records, after a Florida court ruled Thursday that they are relevant in the criminal case against a woman accused of abusing 11 adopted children.
Judith Leekin, 62, of Port St. Lucie, is accused of bilking New York City out of $1.26 million in a scheme that involved adopting the children under four aliases to line her pockets with subsidies for their care.
Authorities say the children, now ages 15 to 27, were severely abused, that none have more than a fourth grade education, and all suffer from physical and mental disabilities.
Leekin has pleaded not guilty to the abuse charges.
Circuit Judge James McCann's ruling opens the door for Florida prosecutors to now ask a New York judge to unseal the adoption records.
Prosecutor Marshall Evans said the New York adoption records are needed to confirm the identities of the victims.
The records could also help locate a missing 11th adopted child, prosecutors say. Nine of the children and disabled adults are in Florida state care. A 19-year-old who police say Leekin abandoned in 2004 remains on his own.
The children and adults told police the 11th victim, an 18-year-old boy nicknamed "MO" who suffered from Down's syndrome or autism, died sometime in 1999 or 2000.
"Other than his name and date of birth and a nickname, we know very little about him," Port St. Lucie Police Detective Stuart Klearman told the judge Thursday. "The children have been led to believe that he died but we don't have any record of that."
Klearman also said police need the records to track down the victims' biological parents for DNA comparisons to determine their true identities.
"We do not know for 100 percent fact ... that any of these children are the children adopted out of New York," Klearman said. "They could be almost anybody."
He said copies of their birth certificates obtained from Leekin appear "suspicious."
Klearman also said the victims are now becoming curious.
"They're asking questions -- 'Who are we?"' he said.
Leekin's attorney, Mario Garcia, argued that the adoption records were not relevant in the abuse case.
Outside court, Garcia said the victims received medical care and were taken care of by Leekin.
Garcia also said the Florida Department of Children & Families took custody on Wednesday of the children of Desmond Leekin, who is Leekin's biological son. Desmond Leekin has been questioned by investigators and has said he did not know his mother had all the adopted children in her home.
A telephone message left for the Florida agency was not immediately returned. A telephone listing for Desmond Leekin could not be found.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)