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 The suspects, Nicole and Calvin Eason, came to authorities'
attention as a result of "The Child Exchange," a Reuters series in
2013 that exposed how Americans were using Yahoo message boards,
Facebook groups and other online sites to "re-home" unwanted
children.
The stories showed how parents were privately transferring custody
of their adopted children to strangers met on the Internet. The
Easons had taken at least six boys and girls in this manner while
lying about their identities, the series showed. Nicole Eason's own
two biological children had been permanently removed from her care
earlier, police reports showed, after social workers concluded she
had neglected one child and physically abused the other.
 Following the series, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched
an investigation of the children re-homed to the Easons. In April,
the Easons were arrested in Arizona and taken into federal custody
on felony charges filed in Illinois. A federal grand jury in
Illinois indicted the couple on the charges Wednesday.
Calvin Eason's attorney declined to comment. Nicole Eason's attorney
could not be reached.
According to an April affidavit by an FBI agent, Nicole and Calvin
Eason allegedly kidnapped two of the children, a boy and a girl, in
2007, and sexually abused the girl, who turned 8 while in their
custody.
In both cases, the adoptive parents had given their child to the
couple after connecting with Nicole Eason through a Yahoo message
group, where people discussed adoption frustrations and sometimes
arranged custody transfers. Yahoo removed such message boards in
2013, after Reuters brought them to the company’s attention.
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An adoptive parent of the girl alleged that the Easons, living in
Illinois at the time, presented themselves as a loving, stable
family, dedicated to the well-being of children in their care,
according to the affidavit. As part of the custody transfer, the
Easons promised the parents to provide proof that social workers had
signed off on the suitability of their home, but never did, the
affidavit said.
The boy and girl were removed from the Eason home by another member
of the Yahoo group, who had come to suspect the Easons could be
dangerous. The girl disclosed the alleged sexual abuse in an FBI
interview earlier this year, according to the affidavit. The boy
told the FBI he was not abused.
No U.S. federal law specifically prohibits re-homing. State laws
that restrict custody transfers of children rarely prescribe
criminal sanctions and are frequently ignored.
Since the Reuters series appeared in late 2013, however, at least
five states have passed new restrictions on advertising the
availability of children, transferring custody, or both. Lawmakers
in those states noted that the absence of government safeguards can
result in children ending up in the care of abusers.
The original series can be read here:
(Edited by Michael Williams)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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