PUT A STOP TO CPS

Hundreds of children die every year in the custody of Child Protective Services. That’s not something the general public is aware of. But that lack of awareness will hopefully end this winter when the full length documentary, Innocence Destroyed, is released.

Innocence Destroyed is not being produced by a half-witted conspiracy theorist but by former firefighter and federal law enforcement officer, Bill Bowen. Bowen, as you can see in the shorter version of the film he has posted on YouTube and which I have embedded below, is intelligent and articulate and just the sort of man needed to produce such a documentary. When you listen to Bowen, you instinctively know that here is a man you can trust–here is a man who tells the truth.

If the short version is any indication of what the full length version will be like, then this film should be entered into competition at Sundance, Slamdance and other film festivals. It is incredibly professional, and the original musical score, particularly Adriana’s Theme by Steve Berkowitz is gorgeous.

But behind the beautiful music is the ugly reality, so ugly the movie is not recommended for anyone under sixteen, of children being tortured and murdered while in the care of the very people who are supposed to protect children, Child Protective Services. Particularly difficult to watch are some of the autopsy photos.

The film opens with a heartrending interview with Tausha Cram, mother of Adriana Cram, the subject of the movie’s theme song. Tausha did not even find out her daughter had been murdered until a month after her death and then found out that she was murdered and buried in Mexico–that’s correct, not New Mexico, but Mexico.

Earlier Tausha had turned to Child Protective Services for help in obtaining insurance and medicine for her daughter’s medical condition. Instead of helping her, CPS took her daughter into custody and charged Tausha with medical neglect. Rather than placing the child with her aunt as promised, CPS placed Adriana with an aunt and uncle of Tausha’s abusive partner, whom she had left because of his abuse. The aunt and uncle lived in Mexico. Adriana went to live with them and was beaten and tortured on a daily basis until she died.

Adriana’s story is just one of the thousands that Bill Bowen has investigated in the past three years. The film tells only a few of these stories. The film reveals that the torture and death of children in the custody of Child Protective Services is too widespread to be ignored.
Bowen also investigates the secrecy of Child Protective Services, the supposed “best interest of the child” standard of CPS and family court, the nepotism in many Child Protective Services agencies, child abuse by CPS investigators, children who have disappeared or who have run away from CPS care, bias in family court and court transcripts that don’t accurately reflect audio recordings

Bowen interviews not only parents who have had their children murdered while in the custody of CPS, he interviews forensic pathologists, former CPS workers, court reporters and more.
Bowen’s short film, Innocence Destroyed, filmed by Chris Walters and Dan Jagels, is a powerful indictment of Child Protective Services. It is powerful not only because of Bowen’s exhaustive search for the truth, but also because of his skill as a writer and filmmaker.

Bowen’s skill as a filmmaker is seen throughout the movie, but it is particularly shown at the beginning and near the end. The opening interview with Tausha Cram draws you into the film. The closing scene (see the photo above) of Tausha lying on Adriana’s grave in Mexico, asking for her daughter’s forgiveness, is one of the most unforgettable images I have ever seen in any movie.

If this film doesn’t move you, then you might question whether or not you really are a member of the human race.

CORPUS CHRISTI – A mother is fighting to see her children that are in foster care. Stephanie Perez and Johnny Montalvo had three of their children placed in foster care last year. CPS took custody of the children after the mother tested positive for cocaine while she was expecting. There was also an incident where one of the couple’s children turned up with a broken arm. Montalvo discovered bite marks on 3-month-old Sebastian’s face and arms during his twice-a-week visit allowed by CPS. Now, the mother is fighting to see her children. “I was really looking forward to getting my visits back today. I mean, seeing my 3-month-old like that, not being able to see him or hold him. It’s really hard,” Perez said. Perez hasn’t been able to see him or her three other children in foster care for over a month. Perez was scheduled to have her bond issue hearing Thursday morning but her court-appointed Attorney Dee Ann Torres wasn’t able to make it. The hearing has been rescheduled and that could take as much as four weeks. The hearing will decide whether or not she would get her visitation rights back, which is something she lost after testing positive for cocaine and allegedly hurting her 1-year-old daughter. “I’ve never been through any of this, so it’s really hard. I honestly didn’t hurt my daughter the way they are assuming I did. I just really need help and want help,” Perez said. “If my son looked like that under my care, they would have removed him and I would have lost my rights right there and then, and it’s like under their care it’s OK.” KRIS 6 News contacted CPS in Austin to see why baby Sebastian isn’t in another foster home. “These cases are often complicated and this one is no exception. For confidentiality reasons, we can’t share everything about this case. It’s just not public information. What the biological parents may think they know may not be accurate,” Austin CPS Spokesman Patrick Crimmins said. Also, CPS has decided that it is in the best interest of Sebastian that he stay with the foster family where he allegedly received a bite mark to this face. “[Even with the pictures of Sebastian's face], they still feel that it is a safe place,” CPS spokesperson John Lennan said. “[To be removed from a foster home] they must have severe neglect or abuse to occur in that particular home or in a case.” After asked whether the bite mark on Sebastian’s face qualifies as severe enough, Lennan stated, “The person who is being held responsible for [that bite] is an 18-month-old child.” “I kind of feel like it’s a big laugh on us. We are reporting it and they are still going to keep them with her. I feel we are doing what we are doing, but it is still just a big laugh at us,” Perez said. “It doesn’t matter what the obstacles are, we aren’t going to give up. Those are our children. We will continue to fight ’til the end,” Montalvo said. “I am going to fight ’til my last breath, at least until I get them home,” Perez stated.