[toussaints]

Page 3: No criminal charges filed

A Kentucky couple who entrusted a child to the lodge for aggression issues recalled receiving the call in March to come pick up their foster son.

The mother described a surreal scene where children were standing outside the home carrying trash bags filled with their belongings. State inspectors roaming around the lodge.

The foster mother said she became skeptical of the care her soon was receiving at the lodge soon after he was placed there.

“I could tell it wasn’t on the up and up,” said the child’s foster mother.

She noticed the boy losing weight during his three months stay. He began hoarding food during home visits. The child’s aggression issues did not abate and during home visits she worried he might harm another foster son.

“I am glad it is closed,” Branham said.

Still, he is frustrated that it took 11 months after his initial complaint for the children to be removed. He is also astonished none of the home’s employees have been criminally charged to date. Branham believes someone should at least be charged with the misdemeanor crime of endangering the welfare of a minor.

Fisher, the spokeswoman for the cabinet, said they sometimes work with law enforcement or share their findings with police, but she wouldn’t specifically comment on the cabinet’s investigation into the home.

State police and the attorney general’s office said they have no criminal investigation into the lodge. Campbell Commonwealth’s Attorney Michelle Snodgrass, the top law enforcement official for the county, declined to say whether there is a criminal investigation.

“I would have liked to have seen somebody get charged,” Branham said. “They shouldn’t be touching the boys like that.”