Aug 1, 2007 9:01 pm US/Eastern
Lawyer: Fla. Woman In Abuse Case A 'Great Mother'
Judith Leekin Accused Of Holding Adopted Children Captive While Collecting Millions
by Scott Weinberger
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (CBS) ―
The lawyer for the woman accused of keeping her adopted children captive in a house of horrors says his client is actually a "great mother."
Judith Leekin, 62, who once resided in the Laurelton section of Queens, is accused of abusing 11 children, some of them developmentally disabled. Police say Leekin used handcuffs and plastic ties to tie the victims, ranging in age from 15 to 27, together in her Port St. Lucie, Fla. home.
Adding insult to injury, investigators also say Leekin claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars through New York's child welfare system, collecting support checks and using them for herself. Newly published reports say that number could be inflated into the millions, adding that some adoptions date back into the 1970s and she may have collected as much as $3 million from the government in the years since.
CBS 2 HD's Investigative Reporter Scott Weinberger spoke exclusively with Leekin's attorney, Mario Garcia, who insists the allegations against her aren't true and that his client cared deeply for the children.
"She loved these children, she nurtured these children," Garcia said. "These were the type of children that no one wanted. The system didn't want them, and she took care of them."
Garcia says his client is far from the heartless woman that she's been made out to be.
"To suggest she used all of these ridiculous amounts for personal gain is disingenuous," he said. "They are passing the blame. Take care of the system you're supposed to take care of."
Authorities say their evidence points otherwise, however. Nine of the 11 adopted victims were said to be found malnourished, some with bruises and others with burns. Police were alerted by one of the victims who claimed Leekin abandoned her in a grocery store, before leading investigators to Leekin's lush property.
"This has to be one of the best planned, most devious operations that I've come across in almost 32 years of law enforcement," Port St. Lucie Police Capt. Scott Barta said.
Leekin is now charged with five counts of aggravated child abuse. She's being held on $4.5 million bail. If convicted she faces up to 160 years in prison.
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