Demanding Accountability

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DHS Creates a
Modern Day Tragedy

By Edward Snook
Investigative Reporter

Grants Pass, OR – In September of 1995, Fran Swann received a phone call from Dean Nunamaker a Department of Human Services (DHS) placement worker. Nunamaker asked Ms. Swann if she would take on an abused 4-year-old little girl from Klamath Falls, Oregon. Jessica Allen, soon to become Jessica Swann was probably Oregon's most abused child who has ever survived.

Jessica Swann (left) Fran Swann (center) Shane Swann (right)

According to DHS Jessica had reportedly been used for drug money by her parents. She was reportedly raped, sodomized, shaken severely, and thrown against walls. She had a cigar put out on her leg by crazed drug addicts. Jessica was never given enough food to make her strong enough to pull herself up in her crib. The Citizen's Review Board (CRB) in K-Falls has pictures of what Jessica ate, which was rat infested oatmeal. Three pictures were taken of the sack of oatmeal which sat on the floor showing 3 rats on the sack, 2 of which had urinated and defecated on the oatmeal. Along with the rats there was a baby bottle with the nipple cut off at the top, in which oatmeal and hot water was added and given to young Jessica. At times Jessica would get a handful of French fries thrown into her crib; again the rats would help themselves. Jessica, a normal child at birth was slowly being tortured and physically ruined for life.

Ms. Swann was told that Jessica was taken to the hospital one night with a breathing problem and the medical staff didn't expect her to make it through the night. A nurse informed Fran that tiny Jessica hadn't had a bath in her four years on this earth. Subsequent baths were very traumatic for her as she had a severe sensory problem. When Fran went to the hospital to view Jessica she states, "The minute I saw the precious little girl I saw the fear in her eyes. She was anxious, overwhelmed, shut-down, rigid, and fussy and her teeth were rotten to the gum-line. I have never felt such overwhelming sympathy in my life."

When Fran finally took Jessica home she quickly discovered that Jessica couldn't pass gas, cough, yawn or sneeze due to the fact that if she made any noise during her 4 years of torture she would be in trouble. Jessica experienced many seizures which were generally precipitated by panic attacks. According to Swann it took about 20 months and countless hours of love and comforting for Jessica to begin trusting her. Along with everything else Jessica had to contend with, she couldn't communicate, she was non ambulatory and she was unable to feed herself or sit up without assistance.

Swann's Troubled Biological Daughter

In 2006, Fran Swann agreed to allow her daughter Barbie to come live with her after the daughter had been convicted of a felony crime for setting fires in the Sierra Mountains. Swann thought she could help Barbie who went astray after leaving home but Swann was soon to encounter a nightmare. Barbie was pregnant when she arrived at Fran's home and just three weeks later her boyfriend showed up at the door. The boyfriend promised to get a job and find other living arrangements for himself and Barbie in short order and Fran Swann's big heart over took her good judgment. After weeks of not even looking for work and several instances where the boyfriend used vulgar language aimed at Fran she informed them they would have to leave. Immediately the spineless boyfriend threatened Fran. He informed her that he was going to DHS and file a complaint against her for not taking care of her children. Fran proceeded to kick the two worthless human beings out while thinking nothing of the threat as she spent every waking hour caring for and working with Jessica and her son Shane.

To Fran's surprise she heard a knock at her door on February 19, 2006, at around 9:30 in the evening. She encountered two Grants Pass police officers who told her they wanted to see the children. They had complaints that she wasn't feeding her children and guess who filed the complaint – that's right, Barbie, her boyfriend and Barbie's younger sister who is reported to be a methamphetamine addict. Fran informed the officers that they could see Shane but they would have to return the next day to see Jessica as she was asleep and waking her with strangers there would most likely cause her to have a seizure. The officers entered Shane's room where they found a lunch pail full of snacks by his bed so he could have something to eat if he woke up during the night hungry. Shane often woke up due to his disorders. Although not as severe as Jessica, Shane also came to Fran from an abusive family who left him mentally scarred for life. Before the officers left Fran gave them Jessica's doctor's name and phone number and asked them to please contact him if they had any questions.

The officers never contacted Jessica's doctor, however, on February 21, 2006, Mollie Robertson from DHS showed up at Fran's front door with three officers and she took Jessica away. Jessica screamed, not wanting to leave her mother while Robertson ignored the fact that Jessica had strep-throat. Jessica was subsequently placed into an ambulance and rushed off to Three Rivers Hospital. Jessica entered the hospital having never experienced bed sores or diaper rash while with Fran. It didn't take long before she had both. Fran wasn't allowed to see Jessica for 5 days and upon talking with a nurse she was informed that Jessica was shutting down. When Fran was finally allowed to visit, Jessica met her with, "hi Mom, hi Mom, hi Mom." Shortly thereafter Jessica was moved to Doernbecker Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon. After arriving at Doernbecker Jessica had a feeding tube placed in her stomach. This was done with absolutely no investigation into Jessica's past.

From our exhaustive investigation we have found that Fran Swann has taken little Jessica to her doctor every time she so much as sneezed during the past eleven years that she has been with Fran. Jessica has been referred to over thirty specialists by her pediatrician due to the fact that she doesn't gain weight and for problems with club feet and bent legs that make it impossible for Jessica to stand. Yes, Jessica is severely disabled both physically and mentally for obvious reasons and she was much more disabled before Fran Swann acquired Jessica eleven years ago. According to some in the medical field, Jessica wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for Ms. Swann. Not long after Fran adopted Jessica, Fran took her to her doctor over Jessica's inability to put on weight. The doctor explained to Fran that it could be damaging to Jessica if she put weight on too fast or even if she gained too much weight because her bones were so bad they couldn't support much weight. It is a fact that Jessica would certainly appear under-weight but not necessarily for a disabled child. In reviewing a chart from The Official Journal of American Pediatrics (September 2006 edition – page 1010) we find that there are other disabled children in Jessica's age group that weigh less than she does – children that are receiving good care.

DHS Ignores Factual Evidence, Becoming the Real Child and Parent Abusers

Fran Swann has loved and cared for little Jessica for over eleven years and Doernbeckers Children's Hospital has "cared" for her for only eleven months, if you can call it that. While in Fran's care Jessica never suffered a broken bone. Since she has been with Doernbecker Jessica has put on weight because they placed a feeding tube in her stomach and have been force-feeding her – she has also suffered 2 broken bones, bed sores, and substantial diaper rash in the short eleven months DHS has had custody of her. According to caseworker Sara Eberly, "Jessica sure looks better" but is Jessica happy and really healthy or is her new appearance simply making those who look at her feel better with what they see. How many months in the future will Jessica spend with casts on her legs – so far she has spent nearly her entire eleven months at Doernbecker with her legs in a cast. The formula they are feeding Jessica has been creating many kidney stones which Jessica is unable to pass. Jessica must be knocked out so they can insert a tube into Jessica's ureter and dismantle the stones – what a trade off Sara… Obviously what they are doing to Jessica is taking its toll. Mentally Jessica was thriving and now she is regressing. When Fran recently spent 5 days with her, Jessica kept pointing to the door meaning she wanted to go home. For the first time in the 11 years Fran has had Jessica she was unable to help her. Both Jessica and Fran spent much time during the 5 days crying together – sounds like an awful mother doesn't it?

Shane's Story

Shane's story is much like Jessica's, however, he isn't nearly as disabled physically as Jessica. Shane came to Fran when he was ten months old, weighing only 8 pounds. Shane was reportedly locked in a closet by his mother for three days and nights. When a neighbor stood outside of Shane's house he heard little whimpers coming from inside. Realizing the mother was gone he called the police. The police and fire dept arrived, broke into the house and located Shane in a closet. The firemen resuscitated Shane and it was stated that he was 45 minutes from death when he was rescued. Shane went through 4 foster homes before he ended up with Fran.

Just after Shane started pre-school he had a severe problem with over-activeness and a lack of being able to focus. Fran took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). When Shane reached third grade level he was placed on medication to help improve his ADHD. The medication greatly hampered Shane's ability to put on weight, but now DHS wouldn't know that because they didn't do any investigation whatsoever either before or after removing Shane from his home. Yes, on March 18, 2006, approximately one month after DHS stole Jessica, this out of control agency stole Shane from his mother. Does Shane have problems? Sure he does and probably many more than your average child due to the fact that he was abused and that he was a drug and alcohol baby. Our investigation shows that Fran Swann even got angry a few times in the past when Shane's actions required her to get angry – DHS now says she needs an anger control class. What she really needs is for DSH to leave her the hell alone and spend their time going after bad parents and charging them with the appropriate crimes. How does DHS explain the fact that they never charged either Jessica or Shane's parents for the felony crimes they inflicted upon their helpless children. It is very evident that many caseworkers and so-called professionals who work for DHS will go to any length to justify their position, protect their income and make their job appear legitimate. In this case DHS rushed to the Grants Pass Daily Courier and had them publish a sensational article about Fran and her children. The Courier, just like DHS did no investigation before publicly defaming Fran Swann. If they had they would have discovered the facts that we have and they would have scrapped their more than deceitful article.

Cold, Hard Facts

It is more than apparent from numerous witnesses that Fran Swann provided excellent care for Jessica and Shane. It is a fact that DHS didn't do any investigation whatsoever before they swooped in and stole the Swann children. They didn't even take a few minutes to consult with Jessica's pediatrician who could have set them straight in short order. After stealing the children and leaving a loving mother completely distraught DHS came to Fran via her attorney and presented a statement in which Fran would admit that the children's condition was her fault. Fran's attorney informed her that if she didn't sign the document that she would never get her children back. This practice must be considered nothing more or less than absolute extortion. Eventually Fran realized that all the hoops DHS was forcing her to go through were merely a string of facades - DHS never have intended to return her children. Fran has now been forced to retain another attorney, she must travel to Portland to visit Jessica and her last two visits with Shane have been canceled. DHS is very good at strong-arming but they are about to experience the results of their abuses. Everyone involved in this tragedy is about to begin the process of losing their fake reputations. Before this case is over everyone involved will be fully exposed to their community and state. We will start with DHS supervisors. Maybe the supervisors need to take a few minutes to read the letters from over thirty eye witnesses who have watched the treatment of Shane and Jessica in Fran's home first hand and are irate over DHS taking them. DHS needs to get these children home…now.

When DHS rushes in and removes children without any investigation, they become judge, jury and executioner. In many cases DHS would rather put their blinders on and try to build a case against a person even if there has been no wrongdoing.

In closing, the US~Observer is appalled at the treatment Fran Swann and her children are receiving. DHS is factually teaching the Swann children and especially Shane that he doesn't have to obey his mother – DHS is most likely creating a monster and this reporter is committed to making sure the world knows each and every destructive action that takes place. DHS has now disallowed any phone contact between Fran and Shane and they are reinforcing his ability to go his own way on a daily basis. The citizens of the State of Oregon must listen now and help stop the state from becoming the parent. If you are concerned please call 541-474-7885 and if you have information about the Swann case contact us.

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