Blog title: Concerns – “The National Longitudinal Lesbian
Family Study” & Understanding Child Abuse
***
Popular press reports of the findings of the NLLFS (National
Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study) in 2010 stated:
• “Families headed by two lesbian women had a zero-percent
rate of child abuse.”
• “The researchers,
who interviewed a group of 17-year-olds, suspected that such family situations
were more peaceful because no male tempers are involved.”
The validity of the study has been challenged on the
scientific quality of its method.
Following is a sample of case histories of lesbian involved
child abuse. This collection of cases may be useful to researchers who wish to
look deeper into the questions raised by this controversial study.
The study is important for the reason that it was designed
to give a foundation for public policy. The study’s authors not that their
project and its claims have “implications for healthcare professionals,
policymakers, social service agencies, and child protection experts who seek
family models in which violence does not occur.” Thus it is necessary to look
into the question of whether the family model studied is in actuality a family
model “in which violence does not occur.”
Governmental social engineering initiatives based on faulty
premises – often as the result of inaccurate “advocacy” scholarship often makes
the problems it claims to address worse than before government intervened for
the sake of “progress.”
This post does not make an effort to promote any conclusion,
but rather seeks to promote further research and to assist in avoiding
superficial interpretations and unjustified or misleading claims that
frequently appear in the press. In particular the stated notion (a postulated
conclusion from the study) that “male tempers” are more likely to result in
physical abuse than “female tempers” deserves serious detailed exploration.
***
NO “MALE TEMPERS” INVOLVED – A selection of (17) cases of child
abuse perpetrated in lesbian households:
1984 – Georganna Lagen (M) & Paula Martineau – Las
Vegas, Nevada – Michelle King (27 mo.), died. (Jul. 19) – Both women Air force
officers. Child beaten, skull fracture, massive hemmorage.
1990 – Ana Cardona, 30 (M) & Olivia Gonzalez – Miami,
Florida – Lazaro Figueroa, 3, died. –
(Oct. 31) – “Lazaro was often tied to the bed, locked in a closet, or
left in the bathtub with extremely cold or hot water. When his body was
found, it was covered in bruises and bedsores, and the child weighed only 18
pounds. On 10/31/90, Cardona split Lazaro’s head open with a baseball bat, and
when the child would not stop screaming, she beat him to death. Cardona
and Gonzalez-Mendoza dumped the body in a Miami Beach neighborhood, fled to
Orlando and were eventually apprehended in St. Cloud.”
1992 – Tivia Strother, 22 (M) & Lisa (Kevin) Smith, 24 –
Los Angeles, Ca. – Tivia Smith, 18-mo., died (Apr. 7) – “the toddler was
emaciated like ‘a concentration camp victim’ from being starved, and had been
forced to stand in a corner for eight hours at a time. Prosecutors contended
that the women would dunk the child's legs in icy water afterward to make them
stronger, so she would be able to stand for longer periods of time. The
youngster also was forced to eat only oatmeal or grits, and autopsy reports
showed the girl's mouth was damaged from being force-fed with a metal spoon.”
2000 – Mozelle Brown (M), 36 & Terry Stockley, 38;
Maywood, Il. – daughter (11 mo.), survived (Dec. 20, arrested) – “A Maywood mother
and her female partner have been charged with abusing the woman's 11-month-old
daughter, police said. . . . The baby girl remained in critical condition at
Loyola Medical Center in Maywood with burns covering her torso and genitalia,
two broken arms, several broken ribs, and a broken leg, authorities said. 
The mother, Mozelle Brown, 36, and her
partner, Terry Stockley, 38, allegedly abused the girl between August and
December, police said.”
The mother, Mozelle Brown, 36, and her
partner, Terry Stockley, 38, allegedly abused the girl between August and
December, police said.”
2003 – Hanelie Botha, 31 (M) & Engeline de Nysschen, 33
– Vereeniging, South Africa – Jandre Botha, 4, died (June 12) – “De Nysschen
had viciously assaulted Jandre while demanding that he must call her ‘daddy.’
Both testified that while Jandre was assaulted, his mother failed to intervene
or protect him. Evidence showed he had sustained horrific injuries, including a
fractured skull and brain damage, as well as broken legs, collarbone, hands and
pelvis.”
2003 – Mary Rowles (M), & Alice Jenkins – Akron, Ohio – Darrell Shaffer, (14), 2 other sons, severe abuse, survived (Apr. 28, escaped) – “[On Apr. 28, 2003], shortly before dawn, Akron police picked up Mary Rowles' firstborn, now 14, wandering barefoot through the city's streets with two brothers -- one 10, the other 8. They told police they had pried open a nailed-shut window at their 30-year-old mother's home on Florida Avenue in Kenmore where she and her partner of seven years had kept them locked in a closet since Valentine's Day. The youngsters claimed the closet was hot, dark, reeked of excrement, and that they were allowed out only once a day to eat. … Their grotesque story of punishment and torture included them getting sick after their mother's partner, 27-year-old Alice Jenkins, forced them to eat dog and cat feces, they said. In another incident, according to the youngsters, they were forced to hold down the 10-year-old while Jenkins kicked him in the groin with steel-toed boots.”
2003 – Mary Rowles (M), & Alice Jenkins – Akron, Ohio – Darrell Shaffer, (14), 2 other sons, severe abuse, survived (Apr. 28, escaped) – “[On Apr. 28, 2003], shortly before dawn, Akron police picked up Mary Rowles' firstborn, now 14, wandering barefoot through the city's streets with two brothers -- one 10, the other 8. They told police they had pried open a nailed-shut window at their 30-year-old mother's home on Florida Avenue in Kenmore where she and her partner of seven years had kept them locked in a closet since Valentine's Day. The youngsters claimed the closet was hot, dark, reeked of excrement, and that they were allowed out only once a day to eat. … Their grotesque story of punishment and torture included them getting sick after their mother's partner, 27-year-old Alice Jenkins, forced them to eat dog and cat feces, they said. In another incident, according to the youngsters, they were forced to hold down the 10-year-old while Jenkins kicked him in the groin with steel-toed boots.”
2004 – Marcella Williams (M), 25 & Lisa Ann Coleman –
Fort Worth, Texas – Davontae Williams (9), died (July 26) –“Davontae, 9, of
Arlington, was found starved two years ago at the apartment he shared with Ms.
Coleman and his mother, Marcella Williams. Ms. Williams, 25, is awaiting trial
on a capital murder charge. Prosecutors said Davontae had a busted lip and 250
scars or wounds, and had been forced to live in an empty pantry while no one
else in the house went hungry. Davontae weighed 35 pounds when paramedics were
called to the family's apartment on July 26, 2004.”
2004 – Zahira Matos (M), 20 & Carmen Molina, 32 – New
York, N. Y. – Yovany Tellez Jr. (2), died (Sep. 19) – “When Yovany died, he had
a lacerated liver, broken ribs and a broken leg, and he was covered in feces,
prosecutors said during trial. More than 40 bruises covered his body, they
said.”
2008 – Starkeisha Brown, 24 (M) & Krystal Matthews, 21 – Los Angeles, Ca. – boy, 5, tortured, survived (Jun. 9 rescued) – “Officials say the child has countless cigarette burns all over his body, including his genitals, and can’t open his hands because he was forced to put them flat on a hot stove. The boy was also repeatedly beaten and forced to sit in his own urine, police said.”
2009 – Erica Mae Butts, 25, (godmother), Shanita Latrice
Cunningham (best friend of victim’s mother, Butts’ partner), 25 – Summerville,
South Carolina – Serenity Richardson (3), died. (Nov. 3) –
“Doctors and nurses at the hospital saw cuts and bruises on Serenity's chest,
abdomen, legs, arms, feet and back. The police report said there was a
golf-ball sized bruise on her head and a large burn mark on her right leg. An
autopsy by a Medical University of South Carolina forensic pathologist
determined that the cause of death was ‘full body blunt force trauma.’”
2013 – Polly Chowdhury (M), 35 & Kiki Muddar, 43 –
Chadwell Heath, east London, England – Ayesha Ali (8), tortured, died (Aug. 29) – “Ayesha Ali's body had more than 40 injuries, including a
bite mark and she had earlier written heart-rending letter asking what she had
done wrong.” “She died of a head injury but had suffered more than 40 injuries
including carpet burns and a bite mark.”
2014 – Eraca Craig (M), 31 & Christian Deanda, 44 –
Salinas, Ca. – abused; son, 3; 3; adopted boy, 5; adopted girl, 8 (Mar. 24) –
“The doctors also noted the girl had bruising and marks up and down her body,
including bite marks on her arm. Jane Doe told authorities Deanda and Craig
would chain her ankle to the wall and force her to sleep chained by the front
door, prosecutors said. She also described an incident where Deanda told the
girls two younger brothers, known in court as John Does 1 and 2, to urinate on
her. The girl also said Deanda beat her with a belt, hosed her down with cold
water and forced her head under an open faucet. The two boys supported Jane
Doe’s statements, stating that they were forced to urinate on Jane Doe and belt
her at the command of Deanda, prosecutors said. Both boys also stated that they
saw Deanda and Craig chain Jane Doe up at the front of the house. During a
search of the defendants’ home, photos and videos were found of Jane Doe with
visible injuries, prosecutors said.”
2014 – Rachel (Trelfa) Fee (M), 31 & Nyomi Fee, 29 –
Glenrothes, Fife, Scotland – Liam
Johnson, extreme tortures, died (Mar. 22) – “After Liam
had died, they allegedly grabbed the hand of the seven-year-old and forced it
into the dead boy’s mouth before police and paramedics arrived at their home
near Glenrothes in Fife. The couple are also said to have deprived all three
boys of food, refused to let them go to the toilet at night and forced them to
stand naked and shivering under a cold shower if they wet the bed. The Fees
told the older boys that their penises would be cut off with a saw and said to
one of them that they had killed his dad with a saw, prosecutors claim in a
court indictment. They allegedly made a cage out of a metal fireguard and piece
of wood and imprisoned one of the youngsters in it with his arms and legs bound
to the structure for prolonged periods of time. The couple are also said to
have forced the same youngster to eat his own excrement and dog excrement, put
soap in his mouth and shut him in a darkened drawer to sleep. The other
seven-year-old child was allegedly compelled to eat his own vomit and had his
face rubbed in underwear soiled with urine and faeces. One of the
seven-year-olds allegedly had a cage of rats put on his head and the other was
tied naked in a room were rats and snakes were kept and told a boa constrictor
there ‘ate naughty boys’. Both women are charged with assaulting Liam, who was
also known as Liam Fee, by repeatedly inflicting blunt force trauma to his head
and body between January 2012 and March 2014.”
2014 – Crystal Jean Hostetter (M), 24, & Sarah Elizabeth
McClain, 30 – Douglasville, Georgia; boy (6), survived. (Apr. 26, arrested) – They “forced the boy into a small pet crate, and covering
his hands and feet with syrup and cat litter. They also forced him to hold a
brick over his head for 15 minutes and refused to give him prescribed medications.
While the abuse was happening, neighbors could hear the boy screaming “Don’t
kill me!” and “Don’t you love me?” according to police. Hostetter said that the
abuse was her way of punishing her son, and she told police that the reason she
poured the syrup on him is because she knows he doesn’t like it.”
2014 – Kimberly Lucas (killer) & Elliana Lucas-Jamason
(M, innocent) – Jupiter, Florida –Elliana Lucas-Jamason (2), died; Ethan (10),
survived; (May 25) – “Lucas reportedly gave unidentified pills to both the boy
and Elliana Lucas-Jamason, according to a probable cause affidavit. Lucas
reportedly told the boy that the pill would make him grow faster and gave it to
him in a cup of coffee, the report said. She also allegedly tried to give half
a pill to Lucas-Jamason in a glass of water, but the toddler didn’t like the
taste and refused to drink it. Lucas-Jamason was found dead in a bathtub by
police. The 10-year-old reportedly tried to save the girl and called 911 during
the alleged incident, police said.”
2014 – Becky Truelove (aunt), 43 & Lisa Vanetten, 45 –
Oklahoma City Ok. – 13, niece, abused (Oct. 1) – “Court documents did the
talking, and in a probable cause affidavit just filed against Lisa Vanetten it
stated Vanetten and her lesbian partner Becky Truelove sexually abused two
girls who were in their care. The document stated for years the girls were
assaulted and Vanetten and Truleove touched the girls private areas, made the
girls go into their bedroom and undress and ‘forced to watch Truelove and
Vanetten have sex.’ In another document filed against Truelove it described sex
acts the couple would perform on the girls. It also stated the couple tried
using a sex toy on one of the girls.”
2016 – Rachel Stevens (M), 28 & Kayla Jones, 25 –
Muskogee, Oklahoma; boy (5); survived. (Jan. 14) – “the
little boy and learned that the child had been tied up, had duct tape placed
over his eyes and had been kept in a locked room, the document states. The
toddler also claimed that his mother struck him on the hand with a hammer, and
that both she and Jones hit him with a belt all over his body. According to
police, the horrific abuse went on for several months. The little boy said on
one occasion, his step-mother kicked him in the groin until he bled.”
***
***
[Nanette Gartrell, Henny Bos, US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents, Pediatrics, May 2010]
Reporting:
[Todd Venezia, “Lesbian parents get high child-rearing marks,” New York Post (N. Y.), Nov. 13, 2010]
Criticism:
[Robin Marty, “Do Lesbian Households Really Have No Child Abuse?” Care2, Nov. 12, 2010]
[Mark Regnerus, “Lesbian Mothers’ Children: Is it time to retire the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study?,” National Review, Nov. 12, 2012]
[Janice Shaw Crouse, “Lesbian Mothers Think Their Children Are All Above Average,” American Thinker, Jun. 18, 2010]
[Peter Sprigg, “New Study On Homosexual Parents Tops All
Previous Research,” Family Research Council, 2012]
***
Popular press report of the NLLFS:
FULL TEXT: Families headed by two lesbian women had a
zero-percent rate of child abuse in a study released yesterday. Not a single
one of the 78 children raised in lesbian households interviewed for the US
National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study reported being hit, punched,
sexually assaulted or otherwise mistreated. The researchers, who interviewed a
group of 17-year-olds, suspected that such family situations were more peaceful
because no male tempers are involved. "One possible explanation for the
discrepancy," the authors concluded, "might be that most of the . . .
adolescents grew up in households in which no adult males resided." They
also noted that "corporal punishment [is] less commonly used by lesbian
mothers as a disciplinary measure than by heterosexual fathers." The study
also found that kids in lesbian-headed homes have their first sexual experience
almost a year later than other children. [Todd
Venezia, “Lesbian parents get high child-rearing marks,” New York Post
(N. Y.), Nov. 13, 2010]
***
Inferences made by the authors of the study:
“[T]he absence of child abuse in lesbian mother families is
particularly noteworthy, because victimization of children is pervasive and its
consequences can be devastating. To the extent that our findings are replicated
by other researchers, these reports from adolescents with lesbian mothers have
implications for healthcare professionals, policymakers, social service
agencies, and child protection experts who seek family models in which violence
does not occur.” , US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Psychological
Adjustment of 17-Year-Old Adolescents, Pediatrics, May 2010]
***
Regarding the faulty method of the study:
1) The "research" consists of the mothers'
opinions about their own children;
2) Only 77 lesbian couples participated in the
"study," and they were not typical parents in other regards. An earlier NLLFS report
described the sample population as Caucasian (93 percent), predominantly
college-educated (67 percent), mostly middle- and upper-class (82 percent),
professional or managers (85 percent), and earning a median household income of
$85,000; and
3) the study did not consist of a random sample -- all the
participants were volunteers
recruited via posted announcements in women's bookstores, at lesbian events,
and in lesbian newspapers in three major metropolitan areas (Boston,
Washington, D.C., and San Francisco).
[Janice Shaw Crouse, “Lesbian Mothers Think Their Children
Are All Above Average,” American Thinker, Jun. 18, 2010]
***
***
***
***
1984 – Georgiana Lagen (M) & Paula Martineau – [Tim
Dahlberg (AP), “Dad won’t give up on solving child’s death; ex-wife to go on
trial,” Spokesman Review (Spokane, Wa.), Apr. 20, 1987, p. C10]
1990 – Ana Cardona, 30 (M) & Olivia Gonzalez – [Court
record: CARDONA, Ana Maria (H/F); Eleventh Judicial Circuit, Dade County, Case
#90-48092; DC #162180; DOB: 11/26/61; Sentencing Judge: The Honorable David L.
Tobin; Date of Offense: 10/31/90; Date of Sentence: 04/01/92]
1992 – Tivia Strother, 22 (M) & Lisa (Kevin) Smith, 24 –
[“Lesbian Couple Charged in Fatal Beating of Toddler, Los Angeles Times (Ca.),
Apr. 15, 1992]
2000 – Mozelle Brown (M), 36 & Terry Stockley, 38;
Maywood, Il. – [Rick Hepp, “Women Charged With Abusing Infant,” Chicago Tribune
(Il.), Jan. 3, 2001]
2003 – Hanelie Botha, 31 (M) & Engeline de Nysschen, 33 –
[Baldwin Ndaba, “Lesbian couple guilty of gruesome murder,” IOL (Cape Town,
South Africa), Mar. 23, 2006]
2003 – Mary Rowles (M), & Alice Jenkins – [Steven Snyder, “Children
Allegedly Locked In Closet, Fed Animal Feces,” Akron Beacon Journal (Oh.), May
2, 2003]
2004 – Marcella Williams (M), 25 & Lisa Ann Coleman – [“Fort Worth: 9-year-old's mother still awaiting trial on murder charge,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Tx.), Jul. 22, 2006]
2004 – Marcella Williams (M), 25 & Lisa Ann Coleman – [“Fort Worth: 9-year-old's mother still awaiting trial on murder charge,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Tx.), Jul. 22, 2006]
2004 – Zahira Matos, 32 (M) & Carmen Molina, 20 –
[Murray Weiss, “‘Monster Moms’ – Lesbians Killed Potty-Tot: Cops,” New York
Post (N. Y.), Sep. 21, 2004]
2008 – Starkeisha Brown, 24 (M) & Krystal Matthews, 21 –
[“Police arrest lesbians for 'torturing' boy, 5; Forced him to put his hands on
hot stove, burned his body, genitals with cigarettes,” WND (World Net Daily),
Jun. 15, 2008]
2009 – Erica Mae Butts, 25, (godmother), Shanita Latrice
Cunningham (best friend of victim’s mother, Butts’ partner), 25 – [Laurie
Whitwell, “Bizarre courtroom scene as lesbian lovers collapse and wail after
hearing they will serve life for murdering three-year-old girl, “ Daily Mail
(London, England), Nov. 7, 2011]
2013 – Polly Chowdhury (M), 35 & Kiki Muddar, 43 –
[Emily Pennink, “Polly Chowdhury: 'Wicked' mum and her lover jailed for
torturing daughter to death,” Mirror (London, England), Mar. 6, 2015]
2014 – Eraca Craig (M), 31 & Christian Deanda, 44 –
[“Salinas women sentenced in torture, child abuse case,” The Californian
(Salinas, Ca.),
2014 – Rachel (Trelfa) Fee (M), 31 & Nyomi Fee, 29 –
[Mark Duell, “Mother and lesbian lover 'murdered two-year-old toddler and
blamed the killing on a seven-year-old boy',” Daily Mail (London, England),
Apr. 11, 2016]
2014 – Crystal Jean Hostetter (M), 24, & Sarah Elizabeth
McClain, 30 – [MRC, “Lesbian Couple Locked Son In Cage, Tortured Him While He
Cried For Help,” MrConservative.com, Apr. 27, 2014]
2014 – Kimberly Lucas (killer) & Elliana Lucas-Jamason (M, innocent) – [Matt Morgan, “Police: Jupiter woman facing murder charges tried to give kids pills,” Palm Beach Post (Fl.), May 27, 2014]
2014 – Becky Truelove (aunt), 43 & Lisa Vanetten, 45 – “New Details In Child Sex Abuse Allegations Against OKC Couple,” News 9 (Oklahoma City, Ok.), Feb. 20, 2015]
2014 – Kimberly Lucas (killer) & Elliana Lucas-Jamason (M, innocent) – [Matt Morgan, “Police: Jupiter woman facing murder charges tried to give kids pills,” Palm Beach Post (Fl.), May 27, 2014]
2014 – Becky Truelove (aunt), 43 & Lisa Vanetten, 45 – “New Details In Child Sex Abuse Allegations Against OKC Couple,” News 9 (Oklahoma City, Ok.), Feb. 20, 2015]
2016 – Rachel Stevens (M), 28 & Kayla Jones, 25 –
[Byline “via Whoopie,” Cops: Lesbian Couple Tortured 5-Year-Old Boy, Blurrain,
Jan. 14, 2016]
***
Advocacy science.
