Recently in Masha Allen Category

The C-Span Video library is a tremendous resource. It has archived on the internet thousands of Congressional hearings and testimony available nowhere else.

Here is Masha Allen's testimony in May 2006 about her international adoption by pedophile Matthew Mancuso.

Unfortunately the explosive Congressional Hearing in September 2006 concerning so-called Follow-Up Issues to the Masha Allen Adoption (i.e., how a single adult male pedophile was able to adopt a five year old Russian girl with the approval of the U.S. State Department and the State of Pennsylvania) is only available in a boring old Congressional Report. Sadly, that revolution was not televised.

I first wrote about the disturbing case of adoptive parent Judith Leekin back in 2008. Now new details of that case are emerging which share shocking similarities to Masha Allen's second adoption. According to the New York Times:

More than 30 years ago, a Queens foster mother was investigated and cited for scalding a boy in her care. But despite that finding, the city did nothing in the decades that followed to prevent the woman, Judith Leekin, from carrying out one of the most brazen and disturbing child welfare schemes in recent memory.

The failure of child welfare officials to bar Ms. Leekin from the system after that 1980 episode is one of the most striking revelations in new court reports filed in a Brooklyn lawsuit. Ms. Leekin was arrested in 2007; the authorities determined she had adopted 11 disabled New York foster children using aliases, then moved to Florida, where she subjected them to years of abuse — all the while collecting $1.68 million in subsidies from New York City until 2007.

The 1980 episode, for example, occurred at Ms. Leekin’s home on 226th Street in Laurelton, Queens, the reports show. When Ms. Leekin later adopted 11 children under four aliases over an eight-year period, she listed the same address; it was never cross-checked, the reports say.

The documents include a deposition by Ms. Leekin, taken in a Fort Lauderdale prison, in which she suggests a possible motive for her use of false identities: her concern that she would be linked to the 1980 abuse episode.

In court documents, they depict Ms. Leekin as a sophisticated serial criminal whose extraordinary scheme fooled varied professionals and could not have been foreseen or detected, given the practices and capabilities of the time.

In a jailhouse deposition in October, she came across as defensive and combative as she admitted hitting children as punishment, the 184-page transcript shows. She acknowledged being the subject of the early abuse report, and conceded she “probably” later used aliases out of concern that the earlier episode would have otherwise surfaced.

But she said that as she began adopting children under aliases — “Anne Marie Williams,” “Cheryl Graham,” “Michelle Wells” and “Eastlyn Giraud” — she was never asked for her passport, birth certificate or any other form of identification.

“Yes, I did some wrong things, sir, but they didn’t do their investigation,” she said, adding she had been made “a scapegoat.”

“They had references. Did they check out the references? No,” Ms. Leekin said. “You convicted me. You sentenced me. And now you want to come here to get a deposition from me, for what? The city has to take some kind of responsibility.”

Throughout the process, Ms. Leekin offered conflicting or false responses when asked about her employment history, income, education, assets and religion.

Mr. Safarik, the other plaintiff’s expert, wrote: “Had the defendants simply verified the self-reported information, her lies would have been uncovered.”

Read the entire story here.

More than six years after the international law enforcement community began desperately searching for the child pornography victim known as the Disney World Girl, justice remains allusive for Masha Allen. Despite two Congressional investigations in 2006 and pressure from Nancy Grace and Oprah, none of the perpetrators involved with her international adoption have been brought to justice.

Despite the involvement of almost 30 lawyers since Masha was rescued from Matthew Mancuso in 2003 (including the prosecutor and lead investigator in the much-hyped Caylee Anthony investigation), not one of the many child welfare institutions and organizations who were involved with Masha's international and domestic adoptions have paid one dime for her care and recovery.

And despite a federal law named for her, not one case has been brought on her behalf under Masha's Law which guarantees $150,000 from each of the thousands of child molesters who collect and trade her images each year.

Neither a high-profile 2008 exposé in Wikileaks nor aborted investigations by ABC News in 2009 and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 2010 have been able to shed any light on the abject failure of the American justice system to vindicate the rights of one of the most notorious victims of child trafficking in this country's history.

Ms. Allen will turn 19 in just a few days. With each passing year, her ability to collect anything from anyone diminishes substantially. The tolling she enjoyed as a minor under the Pennsylvania statute of limitations ended when she reached legal adulthood last year. Law suits for intentional torts typically must be brought within a year. Claims for fraud, personal injury or professional malpractice must be brought before Masha turns 20. This includes a lawsuit under the Notice of Claim relating to her failed domestic adoption by Faith Allen which we filed back in 2007.

Masha's millionaire father also has somehow escaped civil liability for what he did to Masha. And while other victims are collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in mandatory restitution in the federal courts, Masha has sought and received nothing.

Now Masha's Law itself is under attack. In 2009, Jesse Walker, the influential editor of Reason magazine (which espouses "free minds and free markets"), wrote an editorial entitled The Blurry Boundaries of Child Porn. Walker correctly summarizes Supreme Court jurisprudence which makes child pornography outside the scope of First Amendment protection when he recognizes that "[t]he viewing [of child sex abuse images], in this analysis, is itself a perpetuation of the abuse."

Walker continues:

Such arguments undergird Masha’s Law, named for Masha Allen, a Russian orphan who was held prisoner, raped repeatedly on camera, and advertised in the kiddie porn world as “Disney World Girl.” The measure, which became law in 2006, allows adults who were victimized by pornographers as minors to sue people who download the resulting images.

Emotionally, it’s a compelling concept. And where invasion of privacy is the concern, civil remedies certainly make more sense than criminal prosecutions. But the idea opens a can of worms. If the issue is privacy, shame, and being haunted by ineradicable images, wouldn’t the same argument apply to the abused prisoners photographed at Abu Ghraib? To hostages filmed by their captors and aired on the news? To anyone humiliated in front of a camera? Should an inadvertent Internet celebrity, deeply embarrassed that people are chuckling at a clip of his light-saber dance, have standing to sue the viewers?

That last example might seem absurd, but it actually veers close to the pornography debate. Because the child porn laws set the age of maturity so high, they cover not just the victims of coercion but exhibitionists who voluntarily put photographs of themselves online. There also are people who post pictures that are salacious but don’t include the “lascivious exhibition of the genitals or pubic area” invoked by the law. They do not necessarily intend for anyone but their friends to see the photos. But the Internet doesn’t always work that way.

After analogizing Masha's child sex abuse images to teen-aged girls in bikinis and equating them with a video clip of a "light-saber dance," Walker declares "Is it the role of the government to preserve her peace of mind? … I’m not convinced that’s reason enough to punish the people who merely see those recordings, as opposed to the people who actively participate in the abuse of prisoners like Allen."

Perhaps what Walker desires is a "free market" in child pornography which will "free the minds" of the tens of thousands of child molesters and pedophiles who actively collect and trade child sex abuse pictures and videos.

Walker's vision, however, is hardly "free" or fair to the victims. Until the legal system insures that victims like Masha Allen can recover for the very real harms caused by the horrific abuse inflicted on them by the production, distribution and collection of child sex abuse images, the "market" is neither free nor fair.

And as we've seen in the Masha Allen case, if Congress, Oprah and 30 lawyers can't bring justice to one victim, then deregulating the market for child pornography is hardly the answer. Sadly, Walker's unfettered "free market free mind" is currently much closer to reality than the victims' "peace of mind." Unfortunately, for Masha Allen and thousands of other victims of child pornography, justice remains long in coming.

Long before Wikileaks founder and editor Julian Assange became the planet's most hunted man for releasing hundreds of thousands of military and diplomatic documents, he published a eerily prescient exposé on Masha Allen entitled One Child's Unending Abuse - From Disney World Girl to Drifter

In March 2008, Assange and business reporter Christopher Witkowsky, released what would become journalism's epitaph on what had been an international story influencing everyone from Senator John Kerry to Oprah to President Putin.

Masha's rapid ascent to worldwide fame in 2005 and 2006 was followed by an equally quick descent into oblivion. Assange and Witkowsky were the first and only media to explain Masha's tragic unwinding.

Once the political darling of both the right and the left (the 2006 Republican controlled House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations has long-featured Masha Allen on its now-archived web page and Senator John Kerry spoke about his work on Masha's Law as recently as last year), by 2008 almost no one cared or remembered anything about her shocking story.

Despite several abortive efforts by ABC News to uncover the truth about Masha's situation, and a short-lived law enforcement investigation initiated by Senator Johnny Isakson in late 2007, no one from either the political or media establishments had the time or interest to uncover the uncomfortable truth behind Masha's downfall.

Quite simply, after she had done such a good job serving both the politicians and talk show hosts, Masha's messy life became too complicated and too fraught with blow back to warrant too much exploration.

"Don't ask don't tell" isn't just for the military. Out of sight, out of mind often serves everyone's interests.

Almost two years after a federal lawsuit was filed to secure the civil legal justice demanded by Congress in 2006, Masha Allen's federal lawsuit was dismissed today--incredibly--for "failure to properly plead a basis for federal jurisdiction."

Despite the trenchant involvement of a reconstructed legal team consisting of much-sought after guardian ad litem Cambria County bankruptcy attorney Timothy J. Sloan (who replaced Masha's former mother Faith Allen as lead plaintiff), Georgia attorneys David S. Bills (who blogs anonymously about Masha's case at poundpuplegacy.org), William Q. Bird and Darren Summerville (who were originally hired by Faith Allen who reportedly now lives in Georgia), and Pennsylvania First Amendment attorney Thomas Vecchio (who replaced renowned Philadelphia attorney Robert N. Hunn who withdrew under protest last year), Masha "did not oppose (and consents to) dismissal [of the lawsuit] without prejudice on ground of lack of subject matter jurisdiction."

Masha, who turns 18 in August, vowed to fight on by "pursuing the claim outlined in the Amended Complaint in an alternative forum." No word yet on where her case is headed, if anywhere.

Despite the involvement of no less than 27 attorneys in the last 7 years, justice remains elusive for one of the most notorious victims of child trafficking in recent history.

Order to Show Cause
Letter Consenting to Dismissal

Last month, Cambria County, Pennsylvania terminated the parental rights of one of the most celebrated adoptive parents of the last decade, Faith Allen. Russian orphan Masha Allen, who was a victim of sex trafficking when she was five years old, first came to public attention through a story in the Pittsburg Post-Gazette and later appeared on ABC Primetime, Nancy Grace and Oprah. Masha's story was also featured in the LATimes, Washington Times, and WESH news in Orlando. In 2006, Senator John Kerry passed a major piece of federal legislation in her name, Masha’s Law. Last month Masha was orphaned again when Faith’s parental rights were terminated. Masha Allen’s second adoption and third family in 17 years - what went wrong?

Oprah
“After all the terrible things Masha has endured, she finally has the mother she's always dreamed of having. Though her wounds are far from healed, life might be looking up for this young survivor.”

Nancy Grace
“I want to go to a special lady with us tonight. It`s Masha`s new mom, her adoptive mother, who is herself a crime victim. Faith is with us. You had to go through H-E-double-L to adopt this child. And I know that you`re doing this for Masha. She`s one of my new heroes tonight.”

Senator Johnny Isakson
“After a lifetime of unimaginable hardships, Masha now has a safe home filled with compassion and love thanks to her Angel in Adoption, Faith Allen.”

Congressman Phil Gingrey
“Faith Allen is a shining example of the selfless love adoptive parents give their children. Faith is more than just Masha’s adoptive mother; she is her pillar of support, providing encouragement as Masha bravely shares her story. Everyone who spends time with Faith and Masha feels the warmth and kindness that make Faith an Angel in Adoption.”

United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan
“Masha has been adopted by a very loving family who has changed her name and moved her to another part of the country, where she can make a new start and have a very, very wonderful life ahead of her.”

Maggie Farley - Los Angeles Times
“Masha was placed in the care of Faith, a gutsy 28-year-old who legally adopted her a year ago.”

Barbara White Stack - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Faith would go on to follow in Judge Allen's footsteps, caring for foster children.

One of them was an 11-year-old whom she affectionately calls Mea, a child like Faith who suffered horrible abuse and night terrors. Just as Judge Allen awoke Faith from the overwhelming nightmares, held her and read to her religious passages, Faith in turn comforted Mea.

They believe divine intervention brought them together to give Judge Allen, the mother of three boys, the daughter she never had and to give Faith and Mea the help they needed. But when the judge saw Faith with her first foster children, she knew it would be all right. ‘She has a deep capacity to love," the judge says, "If anything, my biggest concern now is that she wants to help everybody.’

Just as when Allen agreed to take Faith in, Faith had no idea at that point how terribly Mea had been hurt. Faith believes God placed Mea with her because she could understand her pain and her needs.

It is so awesome for her to be matched with a little girl of similar background who she is able to parent and minister to. I think it was by divine orchestration that it happened that way," Allen says. "And Mea reminds me so much of Faith. She has the sweetest, gentlest spirit."

Faith will never be able to bear her own children because of the abuse she suffered. But she will be a mother.

This afternoon, Faith Elizabeth Allen will adopt Mea. And officiating at the ceremony will be Judge Cheryl Allen.

Judge Cheryl Allen
“And I began to think about the fact that many people would say that this adoption is something that is just occurring by happenstance, but I don't believe that to be the case, and this is not a typical every day, ordinary adoption, so it's not -- so, I'm not going to say typical every day, ordinary things, but I've known Faith for approximately three years, and I know that Faith has been through a lot, and the type of childhood that she had, most of us would have never survived, but Faith is a fighter, and she is a survivor, and I can say that for all the trials and all the tribulations and all the abuse and all the difficulties you have been through, Faith, you know, what the enemy meant for bad, you managed to, through your faith, use it for good, and that is why you are here, or we are here today, because everything that you have been through, as difficult as it was, it has served to prepare you for just such a time as this.”

“Many people who have experienced what you've experienced, and who have the type of history that you have, have become bitter. Many of them, unfortunately, having been victims of abuse, have gone on to become perpetrators of abuse . . . you have been able to turn your trials and tribulations into a testimony, and it is because of your openness and your willingness to share your story that you will serve as a blessing to many people.”

“I know you have been a blessing in my life. You have been a blessing in Masha's life, and will continue to do so, and I believe that there will be many people blessed by your testimony and your experience, and I also believe that only a wise and all-knowing God could have taken a young girl from Georgia and connected her with a young girl from halfway around the world and brought the two of you together, and I know that -- I don't know everything that God has in store for you, but it must be something pretty awesome, because so many things have tried to come against this day coming to pass, as we know, but we are all here for you.”

United States District Judge Terrence McVerry
“I'm so happy, Masha, for you and I hope and pray for you to have a happy life with Faith, and I'm sure that that will come to pass. Anything we can do to help you, I will be more than happy to. Congratulations.”

Masha's First Lawyer: Linell Lee - Kids Voice
“I would like to say that Masha is an incredible little girl, and she's been very strong, and she's a survivor too, and I only see a bright future for her with Faith. Kid's Voice is happy to see this day!”

Pastor Winnie Pollard
“Faith is a blessing. Her strength inspires anyone who knows. There is, without any question, that the two of them are going to be a story worth watching to see how their lives are going to effect so many others. They are a sign of hope in the City for everyone that has struggled liken unto Faith and every child that is in need of help liken unto Masha.”

Masha's Third Lawyer: Attorney Diane Sternlieb
“I applaud Faith's courage. I have spent many, many months with Faith and Masha and have witnessed a bond of love between these two. Masha is lucky to have Faith in her life!”

Masha's Current Lawyer: David S. Bills writing about the withdrawl of Masha's Fifth Lawyer, Robert N. Hunn
There is no conflict of interest and Hunn's request to withdraw is not based on any conflict of interest. What he said was irreconcilable differences with Bills and Faith, both of whom you should correctly assume have Masha's interest at the forefont. There is no basis for you assume anything to the contrary.

Faith received a major award as an Angel in Adoption™ for her outstanding contributions toward the welfare of children in the United States foster care system and orphans around the globe. U.S. Senator Isakson proclaimed: “Faith Allen, who adopted her daughter, Masha, last year, is a truly amazing woman who embodies the spirit of the Angels in Adoptions program. Masha now has a safe home filled with compassion and love thanks to Faith Allen.” Representative Gingrey added: “Faith is her pillar of support, providing encouragement as Masha bravely shares her story. Everyone who spends time with Faith and Masha feels the warmth and kindness that make Faith an Angel in Adoption.

Torsten Ove - Pittsburg Post-Gazette
In December, Faith decided to move from Pittsburgh to get a fresh start.

These days, Mea has as normal a life as anyone could expect, considering how it began. She relies on her faith, often quoting a passage from Psalm 61: "Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress, where my enemies can't reach me."

Her family is her other rock.

All it took was love from someone who cared, Faith Allen.

"A vast conspiracy of silence" allowed abuses to go on for years in "the most extraordinary abuse of power without regard for . . . the kids." This recent editorial in the Philadelphia Inquirer referring to the judicial corruption scandal in Luzerne County could also apply to the case involving Masha Allen, another Pennsylvania judicial casualty. Unlike the situation in Luzerne County, however, countless individuals from Pittsburgh to Georgia knew about Masha's plight and failed to respond over and over again.

This lack of imagination was more than just the "human error and system lapses" which allow terrorists to continue to board airplanes, but willful ignorance of information and the basic duty of care to take quick and thorough action to protect the well being and best interest of the most notorious child sex trafficking victim in the world.

Here for the first time is a partial overview of the individuals and institutions who failed to act to protect Masha Allen.

1. According to award-winning journalist and Poynter Institute Ethics Fellow Barbara White Stack, "everyone in Pittsburgh knew Faith was mentally ill" when she adopted Masha Allen. Despite these concerns, White Stack wrote the infamous "press release" extolling, in near-biblical terms, Faith's miraculous adoption of Masha in 2004.
   
   
2. When Judge Cheryl Allen sent her name-sake Faith Allen to the Allegheny County Court employment office to get a job sometime in 2003, Court Administrator Cynthia K. Stoltz found her "obviously mentally ill" and refused to hire her. Faith was apparently not crazy enough to become a foster parent with Families United Network (FUN) where she eventually became a foster parent.
   
   
3. According to Faith's social worker at FUN, Nicole Iole, there were allegations of abuse in Lynn's foster home (one of Faith's prior names is Lynn Ginn) and several children were removed before Masha was even placed there. Lynn was dropped as a foster parent before Masha was even rescued from pedophile Matthew Mancuso. The one person who knew the most was a FUN supervisor, Serena Holt, and even then most of what they knew about Lynn was "untrue." "We never got a straight answer. Lynn always changed her name - her name always came up different. When Masha was placed in Lynn's home she was under suspension for abuse of another child and should not have been on the placement list at all. Masha was supposed to be with Lynn on a temporary basis. Suddenly it was all over the news. Lynn Ginn enjoyed this, the media publicity. She got in good with CYF and the people in charge and they CYF thought it was a good home. They pushed the adoption, pushed it as a good home and wanted it to happen. They agreed and made it happen fast."
   
   “Lynn said Masha never wanted to have any contact with that family Ann Mancuso. Lynn often reported what Masha said and Masha silently agreed. She would get that look on her face. Even if you pulled her aside she was almost rehearsed what Lynn told her. It was like she was repeating Lynn’s words."
   
   "Lynn brought Judge Allen up frequently. Talked about dinner and going over to her house. Lynn said Judge Allen would speed things up and do what she wanted to make the adoption happen. That she was going to change her name to Allen and everything."
   
   
4. FUN Supervisor Serena Holt thought Lynn was “a lawsuit waiting to happen” and wanted her and Masha’s case out of the agency ASAP.
   
   
5. According to Judge Allen, speaking at Masha's adoption, "I began to think about the fact that many people would say that this adoption is something that is just occurring by happenstance, but I don't believe that to be the case, and this is not a typical every day, ordinary adoption, so it's not -- so, I'm not going to say typical every day, ordinary things , , , Faith, many people who have experienced what you've experienced, and who have the type of history that you have, have become bitter. Many of them, unfortunately, having been victims of abuse, have gone on to become perpetrators of abuse . . . you have been able to turn your trials and tribulations into a testimony, and it is because of your openness and your willingness to share your story that you will serve as a blessing to many people."
   
   "I know you have been a blessing in my life. You have been a blessing in Masha's life, and will continue to do so, and I believe that there will be many people blessed by your testimony and your experience, and I also believe that only a wise and all-knowing God could have taken a young girl from Georgia and connected her with a young girl from halfway around the world and brought the two of you together, and I know that -- I don't know everything that God has in store for you, but it must be something pretty awesome, because so many things have tried to come against this day coming to pass, as we know, but we are all here for you."
   
   
6. Throughout her brief stay in foster care, FUN reportedly had "very little contact" with Masha's guardian ad litem Linnell Lee of Kids Voice. Kids Voice founder and executive director Scott Hollander wrote in 2007 that his office had "strong disagreement with Faith Allen's decision to publicize Masha's sexual abuse in the media, which was something that we have always believed was contrary to Masha's best interests and well-being. I and others who had been involved with Masha and Faith -- were concerned that Faith's own issues related to her sexual abuse impacted the decisions she made for Masha, especially regarding her decisions to publicize the circumstances and details of Masha's abuse, a decision with which so many of us disagreed. . . . Faith's publicity efforts began well before Mr. Marsh ever was involved in the case."
   
   
7. On September 27, 2006, Faith terminated our firm's representation because we were demanding a legal guardian to protect Masha's estate. We immediately telephoned the county sheriff who was called to investigate Masha's allegations of abuse, Schicketha "Skeet" Roy. Sheriff Roy is the person who forced Masha to leave a neighbor's home where she had sought refuge and return to Faith. See Douglas County Sheriff's Office Complaint Report. She was also a struggling real estate investor facing foreclosure. A few weeks after this seemingly chance encounter, Faith and Masha would move in with Sheriff Roy with Masha's adoption subsidy check paying Sheriff Roy's mortgage.
   
   
8. In the early morning of September 28, 2006, I spoke with Sheriff Roy's supervisor, Sargent Ken Harper, to express my concern about Masha's mental condition. He reluctantly agreed to send another deputy out to investigate. He stated that if they had any concern, Masha would be evaluated and then "sent to a state hospital on the other side of the state" for a 72 hour evaluation.
   
   
9. Masha was not sent to a state hospital, but to an expensive private hospital called Peachford in suburban Atlanta which recently treated Whitney Houston's child. I immediately attempted to contact Masha's doctor at Peachford, Mohammad Ahmad, M.D., who refused to return my calls. I eventually sent him this letter in my attempt to inform him of my concerns for Masha's health and well being. He never responded.
   
   
10. Faith's new lawyer, equine law specialist and former nurse Diane Sternlieb (who also claimed to represent Masha) consulted with another lawyer, Gary Bunch, who is best known for his involvement with a lawsuit against the notorious Children of the Underground organization which was a loosely linked international network that hides runaway non-custodial parents and their children. During the next several years we were repeatedly informed that Faith was telling people that she and Masha were hiding from "Masha's father" who was trying to kidnap her.
    
    
11. On Friday, September 30, 2006, we contacted Masha's Congressional office as a courtesy to advise them about her situation and our concerns for her health and safety. Faith had been declared an Angel in Adoption by Congress just a week earlier. Shockingly, with her daughter hospitalized in Peachford, Faith had found the time to call this same office which not only refused to listen to us, but declared this a "parental rights issue" and related that Masha was a "bad kid" who was "causing trouble" for her "loyal and dedicated" award-winning foster-adopt mom Faith Allen.
    
    
12. Unbeknown to anyone, during the fall of 2006 Masha was being sought by the Cobb & Douglas Public Health Department for treatment due to a positive TB test. After several home visits, during which medication was refused (and Faith reported that Masha was being home schooled), the Health Department lost track of Masha when she moved to the neighboring county and the home of Sheriff Roy. They apparently never thought to call the state Division of Child and Family Services who was also looking for Masha.
    
    
13. On October 23, 2009, I sent this packet of information to the Georgia state Division of Child and Family Services Field Program Specialist, Diane Aiken, assigned to investigate Masha's case. Through the intervention of noted Georgia attorney B.J. Bernstein, the Georgia Attorney General's office was contacted and a high-ranking attorney was assigned to lead the investigation. In an unusual move, the case was assigned to the state and not the county child welfare office. Unfortuantely, as she would late tell me, Ms. Aiken had no experience with mentally ill children or parents and did not even know what the word "DSM IV" meant. She was also unaware that Faith and Masha had moved from Douglas to Carroll county and was unwilling or unable to fully investigate the case which was eventually closed.
    
    
14. On January 19, 2007, I sent this explosive letter to DeAlvah Hill Sims, Esq. director of the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate. Despite assurances to "open an investigation immediately" and countless follow up emails from our office, the child advocate never took any action in Masha's case.
    
    
15. Finally, on February 2, 2007, facing a six month statutory deadline, I filed this notice of claim to protect Masha's right to pursue a future civil lawsuit against Allegheny County.
    
    
16. After we received information that Masha was in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, we took numerous steps to inform officials there that Masha was at risk of further neglect and abuse and that she had important civil legal rights that needed to be protected. When I identified bankruptcy lawyer Timothy Sloan as Masha's possible guardian ad litem, I sent him this letter. When he failed to respond, I sent him this letter. Finally, on December 17, 2007, I sent this letter to Masha with copies to her presumed guardian ad litem Timothy J. Sloan, family court judge Norman Krumenacker, and Cambria County child welfare administrator Betzi White. The next day, a colleague who was assisting me with the case, informed me of the following:
    
    "I received a call today from Tim Ayers who said that he had spoken with the people at Children & Youth Services, and he indicated that you were very much persona non grata with that agency, that Masha and her mother were aware of her rights, and that they had an attorney. They told Tim that there was no need for him to bring the matter to the attention of the Orphans' Court Judge. Tim is one of the solicitors for the Agency, knows the people well, and therefore is inclined to believe them. He is therefore not in a position to do anything further and will not be meeting with the Judge."
    
    No action was taken to secure Masha's civil rights for almost a year. During that time the agency most responsible for Masha's placement with Matthew Mancuso, Reaching Out Thru International Adoption (ROTIA), went out of business.
    
    

This is just a brief list of the numerous efforts we took to secure Masha's health and safety and civil legal rights. Despite hundreds of letters, faxes, phone calls and emails, no one ever responded, requested Masha's file, or sought any further information about the very serious issues we uncovered. It took over three years--the entire remainder of Masha's childhood--for the individuals responsible for Masha's well-being to finally understand that what we were saying was true; Cambria County itself terminated Faith's parental rights last month. For Masha it's just another six years of her short life lost and forgotten.

Earlier today, this document was filed in New Jersey federal district court in Masha Allen's lawsuit against the agencies responsible for placing her with pedophile Matthew Mancuso. According to the motion:

On or about August 18, 2009, Faith Allen freely and voluntarily executed a consent to adoption with respect to Masha, pursuant to 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 2711. Because Faith Allen did not revoke this consent to adoption within the statutorily allowed 30-day revocation period, it became irrevocable subject to narrow exceptions. The Orphan's Court with jurisdiction over the matter has now terminated Faith Allen's legal rights as a parent to Masha Allen.

Masha Allen is officially an orphan again.

During the past four years numerous questions have been raised about how and why then-Allegheny County Judge Cheryl Lynn Allen was allowed to preside over the adoption of Masha Allen by her namesake and former roommate Faith Allen.

For a long time I wondered the same thing. Almost three years ago, I filed this complaint with the Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board. After supplying additional information at the request of JCB's chief counsel, Joseph A. Massa Jr., the JCB presumably spent a year investigating my allegations. Right after Judge Allen won her hotly contested election to the Pennsylvania court of appeals in late 2007 (she recently ran for the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and lost in the primary), my complaint against Judge Allen was summarily rejected.

Now that same board and its chief counsel, Joseph A. Massa Jr., have been accused of "stonewalling" Pennsylvania's Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice in its attempt to evaluate the JCB's handling of a complaint against corrupt Luzerne County Judge Michael T. Conahan.

The same person who handled my complaint against Judge Allen, Joseph A. Massa Jr., allegedly acted as the "gatekeeper" for the judicial disciplinary system who kept the complaint against Judge Conahan away from the 12 member JCB.

"In our efforts to gather information from the JCB we have asked for it formally, informally, on the record and off the record," said John M. Cleland, chairman of the Interbranch Commission. "Our requests for meaningful information have been met with an unyielding refusal to provide the information based on an assertion of constitutional confidentiality."

According to The Legal Intelligencer, ever since the revelation in September that the JCB received the complaint against Conahan, the board's responses to inquiries have raised a host of troubling questions.

How many complaints were filed against Conahan? What did the board do with those complaints? When did the board speak with federal authorities?

What, if anything, did the JCB tell federal investigators regarding the complaints? What did the board do with the complaints between the time they were filed and the filing of federal charges? Why wasn't the board made aware of the allegations in the 2006 complaint?

Robert L. Byer, a former Commonwealth Court judge and former member of the Court of Judicial Discipline, said the JCB needs to be more forthcoming.

"This situation is so serious, there cannot be any sacred cows," said Byer, now an appellate lawyer with Duane Morris. "There needs to be full disclosure."

Byer said that two things "ought to happen" to address the questions surrounding the JCB's handling of the case and the judicial discipline system as a whole.

"The Supreme Court should give consideration of an independent investigation of the board," he said. "[And] I think the General Assembly should have a committee look at this and consider whether this situation calls for changes" to the state constitution regarding the JCB and the Court of Judicial Discipline.

Perhaps now serious questions will be asked and answered about the highly unusual domestic adoption of the internationally adopted and sex trafficked child named Allen.

Last fall we published a definitive statement on Masha Allen's pending wrongful adoption litigation, publicly expressing a long-held concern that "a traumatized, abused and exploited child like Masha needs a competent and independent decision maker to protect her legal rights and guard her pecuniary well being."

Now Masha's third attorney in three years, high-powered litigator Robert N. Hunn, is withdrawing from representing her citing "Irreconcilable differences" with Masha's mother Faith Allen. According to Hunn, "the irreconcilable differences have made it impossible for [my firm] to continue as counsel for the plaintiff. . . . The differences have not resolved but have worsened since . . . January 30, 2009."

Hunn, who extols his experience "representing victims in a wide variety of . . . complex tort litigation" is asking the federal district court in New Jersey to relieve him of all responsibility for the case he filed on September 15, 2008, forcing sixteen year old Masha to find new counsel within 60 days.

Masha Allen first came to international attention over four years ago. Concern for her well-being has echoed around the world from Vladimir Putin to John Kerry to Oprah and Nancy Grace. Her past and present circumstances are well-known to judges and government officials in Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Washington, DC.

Tragically, no one can muster any outrage that justice delayed is justice denied and that the "irreconcilable differences" reverberate far beyond mere words on paper.

Thanks to Niels at Pound Pup Legacy for his continued coverage of this case.

Last week we inadvertently discovered that a Philadelphia law firm recently filed this lawsuit on behalf of Masha Allen. We hope that Masha may now finally begin the process of obtaining some measure of civil justice from the individuals and entities which were complicit in her ongoing sexual abuse and exploitation.

Relates to: Masha Allen (Mariya Nikolaevna Yashenkova)
Date: 2008-03-19
Source: wikileaks.org

Lawyer: Young Internet child porn victim should be paid up to $100 million in damages for alleged mistreatment by Pa. child services and adoption system

CHRISTOPHER WITKOWSKY and JULIAN ASSANGE (editor)
Wednesday March 19, 2008

A lawyer who represented a young girl who was adopted from Russia by a Pennsylvania man and sexually abused and exploited for five years claims the girl's new adoptive mother has physically abused and neglected her, including withholding important medical and psychiatric treatment that would help the young victim move forward in her life.

The attorney, James Marsh, of White Plains, New York, filed a notice of claim in the name of Masha Elizabeth Allen, demanding that Allegheny County, the county Office of Children, Youth and Family, the county Office of Human Services, the Families United Network, Inc., and various individuals associated with those groups, pay Masha up to $100 million in damages for placing her with her adoptive mother, known as Faith Allen. The notice of claim will preserve Masha's right to sue the organizations and individuals any time until she is 21, according to Marsh.

According to the claim filing, which is dated Feb. 7, 2007, Faith Allen, also known as Lynn Ginn, subjected Masha to physical and mental abuse and failed to get her some form of consistent therapy. The blame, according to the filing, falls squarely on the shoulders of the institutions and organizations meant to protect Masha for not properly investigating Faith and her ability to be a mother to a sexually abused girl.

The institutions' and individuals' actions "have caused Masha substantial physical, psychological and emotional damage, as well as compensatory damages," the claim filing says. "The respondents ...had a duty to Masha to reasonably investigate and supervise any potential adoptive home for her and to fully disclose to the court and other professionals any possible concerns prior to her adoption. The respondents had a professional responsibility to Masha to protect her physical, psychological and emotional best interests. Each of these duties was breached and violated, resulting in extensive ongoing damage to Masha."

Marsh declined to talk on the record about the claim notice. It's important to remember in this case that Faith has accused Marsh of stalking and harassment, as is noted in an affidavit filed by Paulette "Skeet" Roy, a deputy in the Douglas County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office, in April, 2007.

In the middle of this storm is 15-year-old Masha, who has endured abuse and exploitation since her journey from a Russian orphanage to the home of a rabid pedophile in Pennsylvania.

Mariya Nikolaevna Yashenkova, known in the U.S. as Masha Elizabeth Allen, was five-years-old in 1998 when 41-year-old Matthew Mancuso adopted her from a Russian orphanage and brought her to his home in the small western Pennsylvania hamlet of Plum. Over the next five years, Mancuso sexually abused and exploited Masha, videotaping and photographing her in various stages of abuse, and posting the images on the internet to share with others members of an online community of pedophiles and child pornography fans. One series of photos showed Masha being abused in a hotel room that was later determined to be in a resort at Disney World in Florida, leading to Masha's infamous moniker, the Disney World girl.[1]

Masha was rescued by the FBI in 2003 after an undercover online operation led to Mancuso's arrest for sharing child pornography. Officers who arrested Mancuso at his home found Masha, who was severely undernourished. Mancuso reportedly forced Masha to eat only peanut butter sandwiches, and avoid vegetables and pasta, inorder to delay the onset of puberty. Mancuso was sentenced to 15 years on child pornography charges and 35 years to 70 years for his abuse of Masha. Masha was quickly placed with a foster parent, a young woman who went by the name Faith Elizabeth Allen. Faith eventually adopted Masha in 2004.

Masha gained national prominence after her rescue by appearing on The Oprah Winfrey Show and CNN with then-host Nancy Grace to talk about her story. She was also the subject of a newspaper article in the LA Times. On May 10, 2006, Masha testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommitee on Oversight and Investigations about her experience. A law that bears her name, Masha's Law, set stiffer penalties for downloading child pornography from the Internet.[2]; [3]

But behind the scenes, Masha was not doing so well. On Jan. 12, 2004, the Allegheny County Office of Children, Youth and Family, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and the Families United Network, Inc. filed a report that Masha was not completing homework and that her school thought she could do a better on tests if she studied harder. On April 1, 2004, the organizations filed a report that Masha's mobile therapy had been discontinued and that she was being treated at an uncertified institution.

Faith officially adopted Masha in May, 2004, during which ceremony Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen presided. Judge Allen had sheltered Faith after the troubled young woman graduated from a drug and alcohol abuse clinic. [4]

Judge Allen said in a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article in 2004 that she was slightly concerned about Faith becoming a foster mother because of her past experiences, but her concerns were reportedly assuaged after she saw Faith with her foster children. "She has a deep capacity to love," Allen said in a 2004 article with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, written by Barbara White Stack. "If anything, my biggest concern now is that she wants to help everybody."

In December, 2004, Faith and Masha suddenly moved to Georgia. In March 2006, Masha expressed the desire to commit suicide. She was hospitalized at Summit Ridge Center for Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine in Lawrenceville, Ga. Summit Ridge recommended that Masha undergo extensive therapy, including a home therapeutic plan for Faith to follow. According to the claim notice obtained by Wikileaks, Masha received no mental health treatment of any kind between February 2006 and December 2006. Faith and Masha came under the supervision of the Georgia Department of Families and Children on or about Oct. 1, 2006.

Masha's claim states that she has been subject to physical and mental abuse since she was first placed with Faith. She has received little or no mental health treatment and her basic medical needs have been neglected, despite the traumatic abuse she suffered at the hands of Mancuso. Masha has moved nine times since 2003 and attended five schools during that period.

It appears that Masha, who was placed by an adoption agency in New Jersey with Mancuso without subsequent follow up, has been failed a second time by the county and state services that are supposed to protect her. Faith was a questionable candidate to be the adoptive mother of an abused young girl. Masha's leaked notice of claim reveals that at the time of Masha's placement, the Families United Network had removed two children from Faith's care because of alleged physical abuse. FUN had instructed its staff to not place any more children with Faith.

Also, Faith may or may not have been the victim of physical and sexual abuse as a young girl. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article said Faith had been physically abused by an alcoholic mother and sexually abused by her step-father. But Faith had also allegedly made up tales of membership in a Satanic cult and inflicted pain on herself for attention, according to a short testimonial written by Dr. Marion Spellman, founder, CEO and chairman of Peniel, located in Johnstown, Pa, a drug-and-alcohol treatment center from which Faith had graduated. The testimonial is no longer on Peniel's website.

In 2004, Faith accused a member of her church, Potter's House Ministries, of inappropriately touching her while she was in a hypnotic state. The trial against Charles Brown, a member of Potter's House, took place after Faith had already adopted Masha. Faith had surreptitiously videotaped one of the hypnosis counseling sessions, during which Brown can be seen allegedly fondling Faith. But the judge presiding over the trial found that Faith appeared not to be in a hypnotic state and was conversing with Brown. Brown's attorney also brought in witnesses who testified that Faith had shown the videotape to various members of the church, including a minor, before she took it to police. One witness, Marie Johnson, testified that Faith showed her the videotape, laughed while the two viewed it, and told Johnson she wanted to make Brown her boyfriend. Brown was found not guilty of indecent assault.

At this time, Masha remains with Faith and appears unable to get the care and treatment she needs to move beyond her traumatic past. Masha's claim notice states that the proper authorities, the county Office of Children, Youth and Family, the county Office of Human Services, the Families United Network, Inc., and various individuals associated with those groups, failed to adequately monitor Masha's placement with Faith and failed to adequately investigate Faith as an appropriate foster parent.

It should be noted that the mainstream media never questioned Masha's placement with Faith in various articles and broadcasts.

References

[1]  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05236/558935.stm
[2]  http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0601/18/ng.01.html
[3]  http://www2.oprah.com/tows/slide/200601/20060117/slide_20060117_284_207.jhtml
[4]  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg04135/316220.stm