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July 10, 2007

Mary Bonn Case Update

On July 2 Mary Bonn agreed to a plea of guilty. It was made official yesterday in front of a judge.

It is certainly debatable whether justice has truly been served in this case. On one hand, she had to admit that she knowingly had a child that was not hers in the country illegally without any regard for the law. On the other hand, the charge of Harboring does not begin to describe what occured in this case.

It is worth remembering that the largest crime in this case is the fact that this poor innocent child did not receive proper nutrition, nurturing, or medical care during the adoption process. It is worth remembering that Mary repeatedly told the adoptive parents, who were concerned about the child's health, that she had seen the child and the child was healthy. She would not take the child to a doctor as the family requested. It is worth remembering that the adoptive parents were lied to and told that the child had been returned to the biological family when in fact the child had been smuggled into the United States and was living in Mary's home. It is also worth noting that there are still many families today who have yet to recover from the aftermath and web of Mary's actions and that there are children who will likely never be able to join a permanent family.

There are some people in this world who believe they are above the law. At times they become reckless and sloppy. It is ironic that Mary did herself in. Not only was she obviously responsible for her actions, it was her own recklessness that ultimately got her caught. I remember the first time I spoke with the adoptive mother in this case, who at the time was on a mission to find out what had really happened to her daughter. She described a picture she had received from Mary months after the child had supposedly been returned to the biological family. In this picture, which did subsequently appear on Guatadopt but has been removed, the child was outside, dressed up nicely, ears pierced, and barefoot. I immediately told the mother "that child is not in Guatemala". After all, the child did not appear to be impoverished and middle class Guatemalans don't let their kids run around barefoot. Yes, a generality and stereotype, but it was my gut feeling. The mom had a feeling that Mary had the child and I told her that despite the fact that I did not believe Mary to be an ethical provider based on my knowledge of her past practices, I could not fathom that Mary could possibly have kidnapped her child. I guess there is something to a mother's intuition because she was right, she knew what had happened. It was the background of that picture which ultimately proved to be Mary's home that provided the link authorities needed to obtain a search warrant. Yes, Mary's own recklessness did her in.

Last week we received an e-mail from the child's pre-teen brother. It was very well written for a child his age and I hope that maybe he'll write something up for Guatadopt about the experience. He wished to thank our readers for all of the kind comments on the site and to let you all know that his sister is doing fine.

So is Harboring of an Illegal Alien really the appropriate charge? That can be debated. Will Mary ultimately be punished to a degree appropriate for her actions? We shall see when she is sentenced. It seems to me that this poor family went through eight months without their daughter, suffering beyond belief in concern. Prior to that the child was abused for eight months with improper foster care. Does it make sense that Mary will most likely serve less time than the hard time this child and family were forced to serve? I personally can only hope the judge involved in the sentencing looks at it this way.

On the other hand, Mary has many children - innocent children. All reports I know of are that her family is a strong one, she keeps a good home. Is it fair for them to suffer because of their mother's recklessness and disregard for basic morality? While I clearly have strong opinions on this case, I would once again like to offer my sympathies to them and the pain that all of this has caused them.

Below you can download the documents in relation to the plea bargain. You will notice that a couple parts are blacked out and a few pages are missing. That was done to respect the anonymity the victims still wish to keep. And let me state once again that while everyone is free to comment on this, Guatadopt will not approve comments critical of the victims.

Plea agreement: Download file

Magistrate recommendation: Download file

Posted by Kevin at July 10, 2007 10:25 PM
Comments

What the Heck? Harboring an illegal alien??? As if the child had entered the country on their own? How about kidnapping?

Posted by: J at July 10, 2007 11:30 PM

I'm sure the plea bargain was in exchange for additional information.

Mary was connected to many cases using a BANNED facilitator. Those families have lost their money and have lost their children.

Posted by: AnonAdopt at July 11, 2007 06:33 AM

This is just so sad on so many levels. My son came to us through Mary in 2005 and I never did like her very much. The agency would NEVER EVER stand up to her. Granted, I always got updates and he was taken very good care of but there's always SOMETHING about her that bothered me! I am just so heartbroken for the families that are dealing with this. My thoughts and prayers are with you!

Posted by: GuataMomma at July 11, 2007 08:44 AM

I know this was answered already but remind me again, what happened to the little girl? Is she with her parents now? Is she doing well? Do we know if Mary Bonn will have to make any restitution to the people that she harmed either financially or by providing information that may help expediate pending cases?

Posted by: Sharon at July 11, 2007 02:21 PM

I am very happy to read that Mary has confessed to her guilt. This family has suffered soo much at the hands of Mary's lies. I hope the family can begin to heal and experience the true joy of having their daughter home. There has been so much negativity surrounding this little girl by the public supporters of Mary Bonn-- that the family could not even truly enjoy their daughter. That in my opinion-- is a crime within itself.

Posted by: Laura at July 11, 2007 03:11 PM

I had a similar experience--I'm with you there GuataMomma. I had this gut feeling something wasn't right about Mary, and our agency not doing enough to find the truth.
Just goes to show you--our intuitions never lie to us.
As far as Mary goes, no, there are too many things she apparently did wrong that she will probably never get punished for. I can only hope this "plea bargain" somehow leads to exposing many more like her, so that eventually Guatemalan adoptions will not have these clouds hanging over their heads.

Posted by: Mary at July 11, 2007 03:14 PM

I am very thankful for Mary! She was wonderful and did a great job on our case and really truly cares for these kids! God bless her! I feel people are unfairly placing judgement on her without knowing what really happend! Please don't always jump to conclussions just because of something you read on the internet!! There is always more to the story that what you know!!

Posted by: Sarah at July 12, 2007 10:30 AM

Sad to say, but the Int'l adoption world is so full of people like Mary Bonn, that nothing surprises me anymore. My family has been scammed twice, once in Guat, once in China. PAP's have very, very few resources or legal help when situations like these arise, and they arise far more often than we all think. There is such a culture of fear for PAP's (rightfully so... who wants to be sued for speaking out, or worse, lose a referral of a child?), that so many don't speak out, and then someone else gets scammed. Am I bitter? You bet. I'm also pissed off and sick of the total lack of regulation of these so-called agencies and facilitators. I'm also so tired of only Guat getting the bad rap. It's everywhere.

Posted by: PearlsMama at July 12, 2007 05:58 PM

My daughter was a Mary Bonn baby. I received false information about our adoption all the way through. My agency did not help at all. They should also be prosecuted. Eventually I hired a private investigator in Guatemala to figure out the status of the case. When I accepted the referral I was told my girl was born at 8lbs and really it was 4lbs which I found out only when she was 4months old and just reaching 8 lbs. (red flag! red flag!) I was told she had had a DNA test at less than 3 months and at 9 months I found out by calling all the labs myself that the testing had NEVER been done. My daughter was a wreck when I got her. It seemed as if she had never been loved and I was never allowed to see the "foster" situation she was in. She was given to me in a Burger King in Guatemala City( red flag! red flag!).I hope she goes to jail.

Posted by: sue at July 12, 2007 06:38 PM

Where is the agency's responsibility in this? Aren't they suppose to be looking out for the PAP's interest? Shouldn't they be making sure the baby is getting proper medical care?

In my opinion, as far as her kids go, I think she's done them a disservice also. As a parent, she owes to her kids not to be recklessness and not to have disregard for basic morality.

This whole situation is unsetteling in so many ways.

Posted by: Elmofan at July 12, 2007 09:14 PM

If anyone is sent to jail, it should be the foster parents who neglected the baby in the first place.

Mary may have broken the law by her actions, but her love and care brought the baby back to health. Had the baby stayed in Guatemala, she may not have survived, and that would be the biggest tragedy of all.

While I can't say I would be daring enough to do what Mary did, I commend her for doing what her heart told her was right to save this beautiful child.

There is more to the story than what has been told. I hope some day the whole story comes out.

Posted by: anonymous at July 13, 2007 09:55 PM

In flabbergasted response to Sarah's comments, I hardly find that anyone is "unfairly placing judgement (sic) on her". After all, Ms. Bonn pleaded guilty to an offense that is punishable by years in jail and a hefty fine. Once she made her plea in court, I don't believe that anyone is jumping to conclusions. She obviously felt that the case against her was strong. As for Sarah's good fortune with Mary's work on her case, I am happy. She should count her blessings.

Posted by: Gregg at July 14, 2007 09:12 AM

Anonymous -

I will graciously assume that you really don't understand what happened. Otherwise, I would say that commending Mary is rather sick.

The care of the child was Mary's responsibility through the adoption and she NEGLECTED to address the Adoptive parents' concerns earlier and seemed to have avoided checking on the child totally (which she claimed she was doing). But NO, Mary doesn't work that way. That might take effort or cut into her profit. The child can be really sick but its not her problem until she decides to declare herself "saviour". Oh, I see...if she decides to take the child then she'll get her adequate care?

Mary worked in Guatemalan adoptions for years. Pretending that she had no other resources or avenues to care for the child is BS. Pretending that there was no legal, ethical way to handle this if she truly thought the child was being abandoned is BS. I'm amazed that so many can be suckered in by her media blitz.

But I will reiterate that disturbing practices have been a pattern with Mary. There is a much larger wake of families and children who have been hurt by her lack of good faith, her lies, her cutting corners and generally the choices she has made.

Posted by: Kelly (guatadopt.com) at July 14, 2007 09:30 AM

To Anonymous-
If Mary BOnn was so interested in saving this child from bad foster parents why didn't she remove the child in GT and notify the proper authorities, including the waiting parents in the US, and place the child with another caring foster family in the meantime? Why did Mary Bonn then decide to bring the child to the US, without notifying the parents and keep the child and not let the parents know her whereabouts?
Marie, Guatadopt.com

Posted by: marie at July 14, 2007 10:56 AM

Mary did nuture this child back to health, that is true. But she did not, in any way, SAVE this child.

In Guatemala, the adoptive mother followed what the embassy staff told her to and what she understood to be the law. The medical waiver required states that you are aware of the child's medical issue - she was not. She also left because she was scared by Mary's reaction to what was happening as well as Mary's suggestion that she committ visa fraud.

The adoptive family told Mary to get hte child into a foster home at their expense while they sought out medical help. There are no shortage of capable foster families in Guatemala and anyone who suggests otherwise is wrong!

Had Mary just chosen to do the right thing and help with getting information for the medical experts in the US this would have all been avoided.

And let me state this last point clearly - this family NEVER, NOT ONCE, said that they didn't want their daughter. The mom was without her husband on the trip and needed to be able to make a decision with him. The family agreed to go get their daughter even though Mary refused to give international adoption medical experts so much as a video to observe her. And that was when she lied to them about the child's whereabout and proceeded shortly after to have the child smuggled into the US. Had she not lied, the child would have come to the US sooner.

She did not save this child! She placed this child in a poor foster home and allowed that to continue. She calimed to have been vistiing this child and yet she allowed the child to be starved and neglected in Guatemala. That is not how one saves a child!

Kevin
Guatadopt.com

Posted by: Kevin at July 14, 2007 01:07 PM

Sue - You mentioned hiring a private investigator on your case in Guat. We would like to hire someone to check into our case as we keep getting conflicting reports about our child's availability and status - it has been going on for 6 months. Is there a number or name of investigator you could suggest?

Posted by: JC at July 16, 2007 08:45 AM

A few points to remind those of us that choose to still be Mary's champion. Mary has completed many adoptions...true. This family did ultimately receive their child...true. International adoptions are hard at best...true. As my agency once told me, be thankful for any child you receive and by any means you receive them when dealing w/ international adoptions...false!
What about ethical behavior? What about the "help" you so promised before I signed on the dotted line? What about your "catch phrase" you chose to use so often? Remember it? It is the same one so many unethical agencies like to use..."Don't worry about a thing, WE WILL HOLD YOUR HAND ALL THE WAY THROUGH. We are here for you."
My opinion...through the actions of Mary, the result is much suffering and hopelessness for many families that remain childless. Either because she was unaware of the "shotty" practices of the people she was affiliated with or she just simply didn't care. The end result is the same. Many are still left in her wake. She may have completed many a successful adoption. But what about the others? Don't they deserve the same efficient and ethical processes you claimed to have received? Maybe you were just lucky or maybe we are just plain not. Either way, a moral and ethical practice is just that...moral and ethical ALL THE WAY, ALL THE TIME. You can't be a saviour if you choose to cut corners or take the law into your own hands every now and then. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I agree....Mary is NOT THE PROBLEM. But she is part of it. If she had chosen to never associate herself with questionnable people, she may not have been in a position to make the choices she has.
Basically I am saying that before you choose to champion Mary based solely on your isolated experience with her, try to look at the broader picture here. Mary was wrong. For whatever reason, she still acted unlawfully. My family and I are in an adoption process that has no end in sight. We have been fighting this battle for over two years now. At this moment if we get our son home before the three year anniversary, I will be thankful. Not thankful to Mary, thankful to God for making it possible. My opinion for Mary is that through her choices and actions, she has made life a living hell for many families. I can not see her career through a dotted mask. To look at how successful she was as a facilitator, open your eyes and see the whole picture. See the horror she has left for many. Mary's legacy is one that includes the words unethical, immoral, untruths, unsympathetic and disbelief.

Posted by: Still Childless at July 17, 2007 10:02 AM

I would like to add to the comments from "Still Childless".

First, I hope and pray that your son will come home soon. Second, I hope that all of the sons and daughters of the cases that Mary worked on come home soon.

Third, we should consider how the Mary Bonn incident and the unethical agencies' behavior has effected *all* adoption cases. In 2007, almost all cases are slowed down due to higher scrutiny by the US government which in turn holds up processes in Guatemala such as PGN while waiting for Preapprovals for over 60 days, etc. Many children are joining their forever families much later than they should be because of unethical behavior. This is truely a crime against these children.

a mama sadly waiting for her daughter way too long

Posted by: anonymous at July 17, 2007 02:52 PM

Kevin,
How long have you been itching to write another article about your arch nemesis? AnonAdopt has it correct about her plea bargain. Since you have not talked to Mary directly, and this is a fact due to federal regulations, it would be interesting to hear both sides of the story and not just that of uninformed, unread, and over-emotional parents - as well as an over zealous author.
Let it be known, I have adopted many children from Guatemala over the last several years and have seen many parents like them. If this blog is the only research these people do, and you only present one side and your personal opinion without fact, then the entire Guatemala adoption system is doomed with yet another atrocity committed by Americans.

Posted by: GuateScholar at July 17, 2007 03:58 PM

JC,

I just noticed your post. There is an organization called ASG (Adoption Supervisors Guatemala) whose sole purpose is to assist families having difficulty completing their adoptions or getting information regarding their case. Their website is Adoption Supervisors Guatemala.

Posted by: Mary at July 17, 2007 08:00 PM

GauteScholar,

I'm not sure what you are getting at but to me there seems to be a few irrefutable facts that make Mary Bonn look very bad regardless. One, the child was in very bad shape due to lack of nutrition. Two, Mary Bonn is directly responsible for choosing the foster family that the child is placed with. Three, Mary Bonn did bring the child into the US illegally. This is enough evidence for me to think that Mary Bonn is a pretty bad person.

Posted by: cheryl at July 18, 2007 08:15 PM

Dear Guate"Scholar",

While it is true staff on Guatadopt have blogs in which they express their opinions, the "Guatemala Adoption Information and News" section has accurate information. In most if not all cases, they provide quoted material and direct links to the original story/information being presented.

Do you have something personal at stake in this situation? Are you like Mary who appears to believe so-called "saving a child" at any cost was above the law? You must, to say the parents here are uninformed and unread. I am neither, and I can safely say I know others who are anything but.

Do you have any clue the lack of information that was available to some of us parents while we waited for our cases to progress? Our adoption agency couldn't or wouldn't give us information that should have been available to us. It was like pulling teeth most of the time, and yet I knew in my gut they weren't doing everything they could to get the info. At the heart of this difficulty was your friend, Mary Bonn.
The lack of info was not because I'm "unread"--even the most well-educated and informed of us can not get information if "we don't know what we don't know" to ask about!

Believe me, I did my research, and Guatadopt was the first place I could find honest information. It was a relief to know I could finally get some answers somewhere.
Also--Believe it or not, "Scholar", some of us know the difference between an opinion based on facts(the blogs), and the actual facts, taken from direct sources. Maybe you should learn the difference.

Posted by: Mary at July 19, 2007 12:39 AM

I thought I read the adoption was complete in Guatemala but Mary got the child which initiated the case out by misusing her power of attorney. So if someone takes your child across state lines or a border without parental permission isn't that kidnapping? By all means if they want to put in an additional charge of harboring an illegal alien but this strikes me as many of the trafficking cases where the victim isn't being marked as a victim. I think they should throw the book at anyone engaged in crimes against children. I also think they need to increase punishment against anyone caught trafficking which appears to carry too light a sentence from what I've been seeing. This has nothing to do with Guatemala or our adoption, what I'm going to say, but I did not believe traffickers had any connection with adoption until yesterday. I agree with Kevin and others we need to report anything that endangers children. You know how parents and law officials intentionally went seeking predators? I was thinking last night maybe AP's should join the effort and look for things which are obviously shady or suspect.

Posted by: mom at July 19, 2007 08:07 AM

GuateScholar wrote:
"the entire Guatemala adoption system is doomed with yet another atrocity committed by Americans"

I can't help but notice the irony in this comment. I would consider Mary Bonn's actions, and the fallout from them, to be an atrocity.

Posted by: AnonymousToo at July 19, 2007 10:26 AM

MARY - THANK YOU FOR INFO ON ASG.

Posted by: JC at July 20, 2007 05:26 PM

Somewhere I read the question "What is the agencys responsiblity in the Mary Bonn case?
I work for an agency and I will happily answer that question. In our contract it states we are responsible to supply the client with all medical information that is provided to us, (key words provided to us) We simply can not ensure the accuracy of information given to us by any foreign country, How could we? Believe me I wish we could. This is why we strongly recommend that you meet the child before you adopt and I strongly recommend that you read your contact completely and if you do not understand what something means you ASK, demand answers if you have to and if they won't explain what it means , I would find another agency. International adoption is unpredicatable. An agency cannot help that.
I do the best that I can but please understand I have to count of people in Russia, Kyrg, Guat. etc. to provide me with information . These are the ways of international adoption. My advice to everyone is meet the child please.. This is a very important decision you are making and it will change your life and although I do realize how difficult it is to take time off of work and if you have other children find child care while you travel, there are many expenses involved with travel, I understand but this is too important to leave up to chance.

Posted by: regina at July 21, 2007 01:28 PM

I know the agency the family used in the Mary Bonn arrest, because it's the same one my family used. If that family got the same info or lack of info we did, then it's no wonder, and they should be in trouble/investigated too. Now, we didn't have trouble getting our daughter home, but the contract we signed was pretty general, we found out later the fee list wasn't right. Is it too much to ask for agencies to eliminate the middle man (the facilitators), and make their own trips to Guatemala?

Posted by: MLMVLF at July 21, 2007 09:47 PM

To JC: email me at dettling@ucar.edu and I will tell you who I hired. I do not know if she is still working since it was 2 years ago but I can give you the information. She also walked me through medical and embassy things( with transport in her car), helped me rent an apartment, picked me up from the airport. I had no contact with RAI when I got my daughter home or for months before. So it was extremely helpful to have this woman checking on my case for me.
Sue

Posted by: sue at July 24, 2007 04:21 PM

Speaking personally and emotionally, I was horrified and upset by Mary Bonn's actions. I know these actions caused tremendous grief and fear for the adoptive family and that is deplorable. I also know the fallout from Mary Bonn's actions has been extremely negative. The resulting backlash will probably prevent some Guatemalan children who truly need homes from being adopted, and that is also a tragedy. Personally, I am not sorry at all for any negative consequences Mary Bonn receives as a result of her actions. She broke the law and is no hero for doing so. She undoubtedly could have found a safe and legal way if the little one in question really needed help.

That said, the objective part of me realizes not to be surprised by her getting a plea bargain. This is routine for first offenses whether we like it or not. A trial is extremely expensive and the government tries to avoid it if possible. I don't think this means that anyone has uncovered a major conspiracy in which Mary Bonn can provide information. I think it means she is being treated like a run-of-the-mill criminal defendant, no more, no less. Pleading guilty to a lesser charge is completely routine.

It does not surprise me at all that the US Attorney is not going after Mary Bonn for kidnapping. Again, that does not mean in my opinion that her actions did not constitute kidnapping; it just means that the justice system is working the way it usually does. I obviously have no idea what Mary Bonn's sentence will be, but I hope no one is shocked if she avoids much prison time. Her acknowledgment of guilt, according to the plea agreement, will obtain her a recommendation for the "low end" of the possible sentence for her crime.

I appreciate Guatadopt keeping us informed as to what has happened in this case. I have been wondering since the beginning what the charges and outcome would be. I am at least glad to see the child returned and Mary Bonn an acknowledged criminal.

Posted by: Wendy at July 24, 2007 09:06 PM

Dear JC, I used Adoption Supervisors and they were wonderful. They stay right on top of your case for you and they immediately respond to all your needs. Don't hesitate to use them.

Posted by: Beth at July 25, 2007 08:24 AM

Ever since I read Regina’s post on the 21st of July I have needed to write a response. It sickens me that she so easily dismisses an agency’s responsibility.
An agency should be fully responsible for whom they choose to do business. The adoptive family doesn’t get to make that choice, they rely on agencies to work with reliable facilitators and/or attorneys.
I understand the “unpredictable nature of foreign adoptions”. But way too many agencies use this phrase to relieve themselves of the duty to provide accurate and documented information. By not providing information, the door to an unethical adoption is wide open.
As former clients of RAI and Mary Bonn, my husband and I did everything we could to get information from them. We were told this “ was not how they do business”. What it meant was, we don’t give you information so we can make up any lies we want!! I firmly believe the many families scammed by RAI would not be in the situation they are in, if the law made agencies more accountable.
Also, I am curious which agencies Regina knows that will allow you to receive a referral and will put that referral on hold while a family arranges being able to travel to Guatemala to meet and decide if they will accept the referral? Most agencies don’t allow travel until after DNA. And even if some agency did operate this way, how does meeting a newborn guarantee good foster and medical care during the many months of the adoption process?
As adoptive parents we need to say “Enough”! The system can’t get stronger if we sit back and let agencies continue to operate with so little regulation and disrespect for adoptive families.
To “Still Childless”, I pray for you and your son. We did get our daughter home finally, it can be done. In spite of the many, many lies from RAI, Mary Bonn and our attorney in Guatemala. It hurts so much to see others defend Mary Bonn and make excuses for her, when she has caused so much damage to the Guatemalan adoption world and so much hurt to many families.
We are grateful every day for our friends at Guatadopt and the help and information they provided us with. We also used Adoption Supervisors. Between them and this site it was the only truth we received in our 18 month process.

Posted by: tinia at July 27, 2007 03:50 PM

We did not use RAI, but another adoption agency that used Mary Bonn as their facilitator. We did not even know about Mary until a few months into our adoption process. We hired the AGENCY, not Mary Bonn. We called references and did everything possible to check out our AGENCY, not Mary Bonn.

Our case ended the week Mary was arrested. Our agency called us and said they did everything they could (meaning Mary did everything she could) and it just was not going to work out. Since then our AGENCY has not had any contact with us and will not help us locate our daughter. We have tried many avenues to find our daughter and I feel our agency should have more responsibility. We spent almost a year hearing things that did not make sense. Come to find out, everything was coming from Mary Bonn and our agency never even spoke to our attorney -- they did not even have the attorney's number. Our agency left us childless, heart broken and emotionallly exhaused.

We started the international adoption process knowing it was unpredictable and we understood that. What we were NOT told is that our agency had no contact with anyone in guatemala and only received information from one lady (who we know does not always tell the complete truth, who also was busy with too many cases and who was in the middle of harboring an illegal alien into the US). Does that sound like unpredictable international adoption?

My agency should be more responsible. If we find our daughter and find out that everything we were told was a lie...should we just figure this is unpredictable international adoptions. Absolutely NOT !

With all that being said....We will continue to pray for our daughter, for the other families that still do not have their children and honestly we will pray for Mary Bonn and her family as well.

Posted by: LH at July 27, 2007 09:35 PM

In Response to regina's comment: Please post what agency you work for so we all know who else not to use!!! I hope we don't have another RAI on our hands. The AGENCY has the responsibilty to spend the time and effort to make sure the people they work with are truthful and reliable. It sickens me to think you just give up your accountability as an agency, and place the blame on the country you are working with at the time. If this is how other agencies feel and or work, i would love to know! I hope my agency doesn't believe in the same ethics as you.

Posted by: guatdad at July 28, 2007 08:07 AM

I'm sorry. Could someone explain WHY this woman smuggled the kid into the US in the first place? I understand she lied to the adoptive parents about the health of the child, but what was her motive in bringing the child and hiding her?

Posted by: CDM at August 1, 2007 12:45 AM

My husband and I are Mary Bonn/RAI victims (yes, victims.....as is the sweet little girl that will never be able to join our family). The arrest and plea bargin of Mary, and the shut down of RAI brings us some degree of closure. However, the heartache those people put us through has not lessened in the 2+ years since our adoption hopes ended. We were deceived, violated, and abused by people we were supposed to trust with the life of our new baby.
In our case Mary Bonn presented an unadoptable baby for adoption. She allowed us to spend a small fortune in cash, blood, sweat, and tears knowing the Embassy would never approve our adoption. She let this go on for MONTHS, all the while sending us updated pictures of a tiny baby girl.
I send this comment not wanting pity or anger in return. I send it to put a "face" on the adoptive parent's side of the story.

Posted by: Marianne at August 1, 2007 04:16 PM

JC--email me (woolenwishes@gmail.com) if your child is in a hogar. I might have some info for you.

Posted by: RB at August 7, 2007 11:10 PM

Marianne,

How did you find out that Mary had presented you an unadoptable baby? We still do not have any answers on our case. We still do not know why our case ended and we have no idea where our daughter is.

Posted by: LH at August 11, 2007 09:45 PM
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