A Michigan couple reportedly abandoned their adopted Haitian child at a boarding school in Jamaica that was closed due to allegations of abuse, leaving him alone in a foreign county for several months.
Mark and Spring Goldman sent their adopted son Elijah (17) to the US-owned Atlantis Leadership Academy on the island nation after the teen was accused of frequently misbehaving, watching porn and running away. Detroit Free Press,
However, the boarding school was shut down in March after authorities discovered staff members were beating and abusing children there.
Five school employees were charged with cruelty and assault on children. According to NBC News,
Worried parents rushed to collect their children, but Elijah’s parents, who adopted him when he was 10, never arrived, and the teen has been stranded for the past eight months.
“I am grateful to them for bringing me to the United States, but they abandoned me,” Elijah told DFP.
“I’m staying strong, but it hurts.”
He had been living in group homes in Jamaica until authorities put him on a plane to Florida on Sept. 3, where his adoptive parents sent the unidentified man who had taken him to the school in Jamaica against his will to pick him up and take him to Utah.
However, Elijah refused to go with the man, so Florida CPS officials sent her, after her adoption, to her hometown, Traverse City, Michigan — about four hours north of Detroit.
He has been living in a hotel room since then, and his adoptive parents have taken away all of his electronic devices and prevented him from leaving or going outside.
In addition to receiving an outpouring of support from the Traverse City community, Elijah's case also drew the attention of socialite Paris Hilton, who has been a vocal supporter of the teen and a critic of religion-based boarding schools.
The abandoned teen and her lawyer, New York City-based child rights attorney Dawn Post, faced off against Mark and Spring Goldman in Traverse City Court on Wednesday to decide what will be done with her.
Luckily for the teen, a compassionate foster parent, moved by his story, came forward to place him with them, the outlet reported. ReportMark and Spring Goldman did not object.
“This is absolutely the right thing to do,” the woman, identified as “Terri,” told the outlet while hugging the teen.
