Global Corruption in the Global Village

The Joint Council on International Children's Services [JCICS] has a worldwide reach into some of the darkest corners of the child trafficking industry. Apparently so does Masha Allen's not-really adoption agency unless you believe Debbie Spivack, Families thru International Adoption [FTIA].

A concerned reader of this blog recently forwarded a large number of emails purportedly from FTIA's [CENSORED] Senior Coordinator [CENSORED].

In these emails from 2006, [CENSORED] details her close relationship with longtime JCICS past-president and board member Deb Murphy-Scheumann.

In a message which begins "How did I get myself into this mess?" [CENSORED] outlines her wide-ranging interaction with what she calls "the Indian mafia" network and their control of orphanages in India.

When asked if "they" are "going down for their crimes" of child trafficking, [CENSORED] responds:

"Usually no....and if so, not for long. They are far too powerful and usually able to pay their way out of jail and then they are back at business. They are also connected with some really powerful people in govt and business. And I can't even begin to tell you the truly disgusting things they are involved in......that's another chapter in
itself...."

Discussing her connections to JS Bhasin, director of a rogue Indian adoption agency, [CENSORED] remarks:

"I've made light of it all these years but to truly realize that my instincts/intuitions were accurate and that I was THAT close to them, to their evil.....how involved I became, and and how significant they really are.....is scary."

But alas, international adoption must go on albeit at any cost. [CENSORED] continues:

There was one very high-powered business man in Pune that was a true humanitarian and was working with one orphanage in Pune and we met and were intending to work together. We met with him twice (this was a 1 1/2 yrs ago) and he was intending to visit us next time he was in the states (he traveled often). Before that had a
chance to happen, my Indian Assistant Harshal called me a few months ago and
told me that this guy was killed because he was trying to open an orphanage but
would not join their network

[CENSORED] then relates a bizarre scenario in which Murphy-Scheumann was apparently poisoned by an orphanage director for knowing too much:

I briefed Deb on all of this so that when she traveled with me, she knew to be careful, but she is so not delicate and we were in a meeting with one of them (KP Sethy and I'll include the CNN article about him in the next email.) at his home in Delhi. I was very cautious as I suspected he was in the network, but we had been working with him for a
year. I sat in the meetings and only talked about our work but would not get
into any other topics but he continued to ask questions that had nothing to do
with our work. I said nothing but Deb didn't get the subtle cues and started
talking and there was no way I could shut her up.....I guess I hadn't quite
impressed Deb, and she sat there chattering away, and then she mentioned she was
director of JCICS in the US and they intended to go after these people.......I
honestly thought I wasn't going to leave his house alive.....I could feel the
sweat running down my sides as I was watching this guys expression as he was
taking in information....

I KNOW.....this sounds like a crime novel!

So, we had to catch our flight back to the US but KP asked if he could offer us something to drink before we departed, and I just had this feeling that I should not.....so I politely refused and he would not let up, and Deb eventually accepted.....hmmmm....and
after that trip she was hospitalized and her health gone down ever since and
still today Dr's can not figure out what to do for her. All they know is that
she somehow contracted something in India that is slowly destroying her lungs
& immune system...she is either in bed at home, or in the hospital on a
ventilator....

Poor poisoned Deb. And poor crusading [CENSORED]. But international adoption does come at a price and the child-saving must go on:

When I told [CENSORED] a few days ago, he asked if I was ready to admit that Deb was ill because these guys don't mess around and asked when I was going to change jobs....

In some ways I wish I would have taken that [Rogues?] Gallery job.......on the other hand......I feel like I can't just turn away at this point either.....

[CENSORED] closes her missive with this observation:

In the end, what pisses me off.....and the reason I can't seem to let it go.....is that the baby-buying is all SO un-necessary. The tragedy is that India has far too many orphans.....but these people realized early on that fair-skinned newborns are a very lucrative commodity....and they know how to get their hands on them.....depraved......

The next day, [CENSORED] provides this shocking update:

http://www.ibnlive.com/features/babysnatchers/index.php

I feel rather numb.....If you either read the first article and/or look at the first video, you'll see mention of
Joginder Kaur....she worked with us for years.....we gave over $150K to their
organization (which I now suspect went into their own pockets....we're talking
serious dollar value in India!!!) Anyway, I spent countless days in India with
her, and 3-4 days at their rural orphanage/birthmother home and she visited us
in the US twice (we organized walk-a-thons, ect...)

Coming soon, details about FTIA's relationship with Ellie Skeele and the Nepalese orphanage Community Child Rescue Centre! Until then, keep the emails coming folks.


P.S. Deb, [CENSORED], since I know you are reading this please fill us in on "the truly disgusting things they are involved in" lest our readers let their ever vivid imaginations run wild . . .

Pedo-Parents and the Child Welfare System

Late last year, [Kid's Voice](http://www.kidsvoice.org/default.aspx) executive director Scott Hollander, "argued that just because a person is on the Megan's Law Web site it doesn't mean they are a danger to their child."

In a [televised interview](http://www.wpxi.com/news/14524742/detail.html#) on Pittsburgh's WPXI, Hollander--whose child advocacy organization approved Masha Allen's placement with and adoption by Faith Allen--admitted that "Megan's Law . . . raises a huge red flag that has to be investigated."

Kid's Voice, which reps itself as "a voice of hope, a voice for rights and a voice of experience for children who otherwise cannot speak for themselves" is a impregnable and well-connected Pittsburgh institution with links to the [Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the ACLU](http://www.aclupa.org/chapters/greaterpittsburgh/) (Hollander's father is president of the board of directors), [Child Watch of Pittsburgh](http://www.childwatchofpittsburgh.org/) (Hollander serves on the board with and gave a campaign contribution to Masha's namesake [Judge Cheryl Allen](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04135/316220.stm)), and [Hollywood](http://www.post-gazette.com/tv/20010916realguard0916fnp6.asp) (Hollander was a technical consultant to his brother's hit television show *The Guardian*).

[Note that reporter Barbara White Stack, a favorite of Judge Allen, wrote both these Post-Gazette pieces and serves on the ACLU board with Hollander's dad - but more on that later.]

According to their website:

> "KidsVoice vigilantly guides each child through the court process and ensures that every agency involved meets the full range of the child's needs. Through in-depth investigation, KidsVoice delivers informed recommendations and advocates in court for the child's best interests--in court and beyond--making a dramatic difference in the lives of children, parents and the community at large. KidsVoice ensures that the most appropriate services are in place to protect children from future harm, with the ultimate goal of providing a safe and permanent home for every child."

Enough pablum about the kids, what about the pedo-parents? Can a convicted sex offender ever be an appropriate parent? What about a single divorced middle aged man seeking to adopt a young blond Russian girl? Are guys like Mancuso worthy of investigation and a second chance? Is anyone less a viable option? Who? And how do you decide who is rehabilitated and who isn't?

Focus on Adoption - a Rogues Gallery

Let me keep it as simple as possible. Since as early as December 5, 2004, the "intercountry adoption advocacy organization" [Focus on Adoption](http://www.focusonadoption.com/) has been a virtual rogues gallery of the leading unethical playas in international adoption.

On December 5, 2004, the FOA website listed Jeannene Smith as the organization's treasurer. Smith's name, along with Keith Wallace of [Families thru International Adoption](http://www.ftia.org/) [FTIA], appeared prominently in Masha Allen's October 7, 2003 Child Profile Study Report. Clearly Smith, along with Wallace, knew exactly what had become of child porn star Masha when Smith was promoted to an FOA officer. This from the FOA website:

>Jeannene Smith is the founder and CEO of [Reaching Out thru International Adoption](http://www.childpromise.org/), Inc., [ROTIA] a fully recognized non-profit humanitarian aid and child placement organization. . . She has provided testimony and position statements to Congressional leaders and the media on various international adoption issues such as the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000, the Hague Convention and implementation issues both in the US and abroad, child trafficking and international adoption reform and has presented seminars on international adoption issues, practices and processes both in the US and abroad.

> Jeannene has remained involved in legislative issues, serving in the past on several [JCICS](http://www.jcics.org/) committees and currently serves on the JCICS Hague Committee, Ethics Committee, and as the Chair of the Cambodia Caucus. In addition, Jeannene served on the Advisory Council on Intercountry Adoption (ACIA) Hague Committee.

Next up, FTIA. Despite Keith Wallace's desperate attempts during his Congressional testimony to distance himself and FTIA from Smith, ROTIA and the Masha Allen adoption, his lackey Chris Huber was and REMAINS a member of FOA to this day. This from the FOA website dated December 5, 2004:

> Chris Huber is the Latin American Program Manager for Families Thru International Adoption, a 501C3 not for profit international placing agency licensed in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Chris has lived and worked in Central and South America for almost 15 years and currently supervises adoption programs in Guatemala and Brazil as well as developing new programs in other Latin American countries. . . He joined FOA to help assure that children around the world continue to have the opportunity to be adopted into a loving family.

Gee Keith, despite your Congressional denunciations, you must have thought we were just too damn stupid to notice this connection. And until today, I guess we were.

On to yet another FOA sycophant, Carl Jenkins. Jenkins didn't need the notoriety of the Masha Allen debacle to become sullied. Instead he created his very own scandal in a [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act](http://www.marshlaw.net/resources/RICO-Brief.pdf) [RICO] lawsuit which is pending before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. I should know because I represent the adoptive parents and the local adoption agency who are plaintiffs in [the litigation](http://www.marshlaw.net/resources/RICO-Appendix.pdf). Welcome to the MarshLaw/ChildLaw club Carl!!

This from the FOA website dated December 5, 2004:

> Carl Jenkins is a former litigation attorney who now consults in non-profit restructuring, insurance coverage issues and wrongful adoption defense. He is also General Counsel for World Child® International, a Maryland-licensed, international adoption agency.

> Carl is actively involved in the Hague Accreditation process through several organizations and has also served such varied community interest groups as: Peer Reviewer for the [Council on Accreditation](http://www.coanet.org); At Large member on the Lawyer-to-Lawyer Committee for the Maryland Sixth Circuit; and served as Counsel to the Clergy for the Holy Name Order (Franciscans). He has spoken or moderated panels at [Resolve](http://www.resolve.org), F.A.C.E., [Quad A](http://www.adoptionattorneys.org) and JCICS conferences regularly during the past several years. He also has been published in [Adoptive Family Magazine](http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/) and other periodic journals on adoption issues.

Now a shout out to my other fav peeps at the [National Council for Adoption](http://www.adoptioncouncil.org/), who just welcomed Jenkins's agency [World Child International](http://www.worldchild.org) as a new member, and some free advice: you should always Google "[marshlaw](http://www.marshlaw.net)" + "proposed NCFA member" as part of your rigorous due diligence. Just a friendly hint to help you avoid future embarrassment.

Moving right on through FOA's opium den we find, on the April 5, 2005 version of their website, media spin-mistress Cindy Peck. Take it away Cin (in her very own words):

> Cynthia Peck is a persuasive adoption advocate who has worn many hats in the
adoption field for thirty years. She brings to the FOA Board a perspective
honed as an educator, an agency practitioner, an adoptive parent of 8 young
adults and a writer. For 20 years, Cindy edited and published Roots and
Wings Adoption Magazine, which merged with [Adoption TODAY](http://www.adoptinfo.net) in 2000. She is
the author of Parents at Last: Celebrating Adoption and the New Pathways to
Parenthood (Random House/Crown). Currently, Cindy is the editor of
[Fostering Families TODAY Magazine](http://www.fosteringfamiliestoday.com), which she co-founded with publisher
Richard Fischer in 2001. She has served on the founding Boards of two
international adoption agencies and on the Board of JCICS.

A lot of good action advocacy words there Cynthia. A real addition to the team with street creds to boot. Way to go girl!

Now right before all that REAL BAD NEWS about Masha broke on December 1, 2005 in the led-by-Jeannene-Smith-ever-ethical-international-adoption-industry's universally reviled [ABC Primetime](http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/LegalCenter/story?id=1364110) exposé, FOA added this curious disclaimer to their website:

> Focus On Adoption is a volunteer, non-profit organization. Most of our activities are funded through the donations of adoption professionals. Focus On Adoption does not have the ability to audit the ethical policies of its supporters. While we hope that only adoption professionals who agree with and operate within proper ethical standards actively support us, this is not something enforceable by Focus On Adoption. Therefore, private individuals researching adoption providers should not view an agency's support of Focus On Adoption as being anything more than the fact that the agency has donated to help us with our mission. Support of Focus On Adoption should not be considered an endorsement of any sort on our part.

Whew, that certainly cleared things up, leaving FOA blissfully absolved as far as all that distasteful Masha pedophile stuff goes. Wouldn't want the unsuspecting public and future international adoption consumers to get the wrong idea. And all of this just in time to welcome Tom DiFilipo to the FOA board!

Tom. How are you? Folks you remember Tom. Tom is the guy who now runs the [Joint Council on International Children Services](http://www.jcics.org) or JCICS in international adopt-speak. You can read all about him [right here](http://www.childlaw.us/2007/12/child-exploitation-cracks-in.html) on this very blog.

Tommy's the guy (can I call you Tommy?) who allowed ROTIA (yep that's Jeannene Smith's agency AGAIN) to resign from JCICS right before they had to undertake the nasty job of SELF-REGULATION. Yeah that's right. An INVESTIGATION of ROTIA for Masha's adoption which I had to request because, after all, what did they know about Jeannene Smith and ROTIA anyway. That is, before I pointed it out to them.

I know I know, keeping up with the news is such a challenge these days even when your peeps attend and [testify](http://www.jcics.org/Hearing%209.27.06%20-%20Jared%20Rolsky%20Testimony.doc) at the actual Congressional hearing where Jeannene was called a liar and threatened with jail and all that. But given the heavy hitter which Tommy certainly is, he's got TONS of Congressional hearings to worry about. I can certainly understand how this little ole' hearing slipped his mind.

And what a coincidence. By the time I told Tom all about it, ROTIA had resigned JCICS, and Jeannene had packed up her pony and headed off into the sunset only to be re-emerge like a phoenix six months later as [ChildsPromise](http://www.childpromise.org/). Boy, Tom must have a BIG JOB keeping up with all those ethical adoption agencies considering all the name changes, scandals, lawsuits and such. But here he is in his own words from the November 25, 2005 FOA website. Take it away Tom:

> Tom DiFilipo currently serves as Vice-President of Programs & Services for the [CASI Foundation](http://www.adoptcasi.org). He recently served as Chief Operations Officer for [International Children's Alliance](http://www.adoptica.org), Board Chairperson of Discovery Outreach and as an independent consultant in management practices for a variety of non-profits. In the private sector, Tom has held executive management positions with Sorbee International, Mars Inc. and Pace Brokers. Tom is the father of three children, two of whom joined his family through adoption in Russia.

Curiously, right around this time FOA stopped accepting new members. I mean with members like these, who needs more members right. And one can certainly appreciate their fears because once the Masha story broke there were sure to be THOUSANDS upon THOUSANDS of desperate and eager single middle aged men willing to do anything to jump on the pedophile, I mean ETHICAL and RESPONSIBLE, adoption bandwagon.

All with the purest of motives of course, of course, but still, all that cash, the paperwork, applications and all the peer vetting, careful review, background checks and such. I for one can understand how more "official members" would be just way way too much for FOA handle, especially after Masha. Thankfully anyone can still support the cause by donating. Give early and give often. "Think of the children. This is what it's all about."

Here's the pithy disclaimer FOA put on their site sometime in the fall of 2005:

> While Focus on Adoption no longer has official "members", below are suggested donations to help keep our mission alive. Donating annually at the suggested rates may entitle you to discounts on conferences and events sponsored by Focus on Adoption.

Last but not least (don't worry girl, I didn't forget you of all my homey-gs) is FOA board member Debbie Spivack. Debbie actually gets all the credit for opening my mind to the wonders of FOA. Let's let Deb rap for herself before we take a closer look at her rep.

> Debbie Spivack is an attorney whose practice focuses on adoption and family building. . . . She has worked with client families and organizations over the years to assist them in achieving their goals, and has been a vocal and effective advocate on adoption policy issues.

> Most recently, Debbie served as the Executive Director of Reaching Out thru International Adoption, Inc. In this position, she was involved in all aspects of placing children from countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and Central America with families throughout the United States. She worked closely with adoptive parent clients on all aspects of their cases, and worked closely with foreign counterparts to address legal issues on the foreign processing side of their cases. She also developed relationships with foreign attorneys, orphanages, and government officials to create new adoption programs and provide humanitarian aid.

> Debbie has also been an effective voice to advocate in favor of adoption policy to enable children without families find homes. Most notably, she advocated effectively for appropriate modifications to the regulations proposed in 2003 to implement the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 and Hague Convention in the United States.The Hague Regulation Analysis she drafted was widely favored among adoption advocates for its damaging legal and policy impact, and, ultimately its suggestions were adopted substantially into the final draft of the Regulations, issued in February 2006. She also served an active member of a number of committees analyzing the Regulations (including the JCICS Hague Regulation committee and the Hague Committee of Advisory Council on Intercountry Adoption, a collaboration of national organizations recognized as leaders in the ethical and professional practice of adoption and child welfare services). Debbie further served as the JCICS Chairperson of the Azerbaijan Caucus and as the Co-Chairperson of the ICARE Government Affairs Committee. In 2005, Debbie was awarded with the JCICS 110% Member Award in appreciation for the work performed on the ICARE legislation analysis.

Yo Deb that's a heavy rep and a lotta words. But we're trying to take a comprehensive look here so let's not forget your premier role in all this international adoption stuff. Folks are you ready? Now s l o w l y open your eyes . . .

[Speak for the Children: Little Things Really Can Make a Difference
](http://www.guatadopt.com/archives/000262.html) by Debbie Spivack. No better words have been spoken and no greater position taken than those who SPEAK FOR THE CHILDREN!!!! Fearless souls like Debbie Spivack. Filled with zeal . . . damn now I'll just say it (I used to be an evangelical) filled with the HOLY SPIRIT! (Debbie you and [Judge Cheryl Allen](http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04135/316220.stm) should DEFINITELY get together. Cheryl meet Debbie, Deb meet Cher. Judge A. herself played another pivotal role in poor Masha Allen's life, but more on that later. What is it about Pennsylvania, folks. What can it be . . .)

Now given the miraculous power of the internet, you gentle readers, and the entire world can carefully read and thoughtfully consider the finely honed words of Ms. Spivak in their exact context in April 2005.

A quick review of the timeline here. By October 2003 Jeannene Smith and her cronies know all about Masha's horrible fate. December 2004 Smith become treasurer of FOA. FTIA's Huber is also ensconced on the FOA board along with RICO Jenkins. By April 2005 the Disney World Girl Masha Allen's story has appeared in the international news. An eager press corps can not be far behind in their search for the truth behind the story. Media maven Cindy Peck is ready to spin the humanitarian angle. "**THINK OF THE CHILDREN**" becomes the universal battle cry. Lawyer Spivack rises to the challenge.

The result is [Speak for the Children: Little Things Really Can Make a Difference
](http://www.guatadopt.com/archives/000262.html) which was posted on the FOA member listserve. It was clearly a proactive effort "[g]iven the recent wave of negative publicity, ROTIA thought it might be useful to share this article with adoptive parents and professionals in the hopes of working together for the benefit of the children."

Elizabeth Bartholet, a Harvard law professor who gave [the keynote speech](http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/bartholet/FOCUSONADOPTION.pdf) at the January 2005 FOA conference, provides a veneer of intellectual respectability and a much needed bibliographic reference. No time to worry about conflicts of interest. Not when there are children and the entire institution of international adoption which needs saving.

Spivack's apologetic issues to the faithful with Masha as its centerpiece. It becomes the [Mein Kampf](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mein_Kampf) in FOA's effort to turn back the negative publicity associated with the Masha story. [Read it](http://www.guatadopt.com/archives/000262.html) (don't miss Steve Osborn's comments at the bottom - a must read!!), then [digest my commentary](http://www.childlaw.us/2008/01/children-for-sale-guatemalan-p.html#comment-33664).

And finally look what ultimately happens. Masha gets erased from the story. In the version Spivack eventually [posts on her lawfirm's website](http://www.familybuildinglaw.net/files/Speak_20for_20the_20Children_201.pdf), "Masha" becomes "Jenya" a self-styled "child like yours. . . . saved from a life of
prostitution and drugs by a family from halfway around the world who had the resources and desire to care for her." If only this much could be said for Masha Allen. If only.

Cambria County Casualty

Yesterday I learned that the international adoption agency most responsible for Masha Allen's placement with pedophile Matthew Mancuso (originally known as Reaching Out Thru International Adoption [ROTIA] and recently renamed ChildPromise) is discontinuing operations.

A message from CP's executive director Sonia Baxter states that "due to our recent sad announcement regarding ceasing adoption activities, we are receiving many calls. Our goal is to insure that there's a calm and organized process to transferring cases and completing adoptions."

Tragically, this is just one more defendant who will escape civil liability for the criminal acts perpetrated against Masha Allen. Criminal acts which, despite outrage from Congress and pledges from Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr. and United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, have been completely forgotten.

Take Jeannene Smith, the New Jersey baby-broker who gave Masha to Mancuso. According to NJ criminal law, any "person . . . other than an approved agency which pays, seeks to pay, receives, or seeks to receive money or other valuable consideration in connection with the placement of a child for adoption shall be guilty of a crime." Smith was running an unlicensed and unapproved NJ adoption agency when she accepted lots of money from Mancuso for Masha.

The penalty for this crime? Between five and ten years in prison and a $150,000 fine. And yet Jeannene Smith remains at large, an adoption reform advocate who still hasn't paid her debt to either society or Masha.

And what about Pennsylvania, Mancuso's home at the time of the "adoption." In a 1987 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that adoption intermediaries are not allowed to accept ANY PAYMENT for their services. If they do they are "dealing in humanity" which is punishable by up to five years imprisonment and a $50,000 fine.

The Court's lofty words are as true today as they were over 20 years ago:

"The early history of this nation is marred by a practice where human beings were bought and sold like merchandise. Powerful profit motives prompted violent opposition to those who perceived error in the practice, and a traumatic civil war was fought to ensure that no human being be transferred for consideration. By now the practice should be so abhorrent to every American that no one would traffic in human life for profit. Unfortunately, the lessons of the past are already forgotten; and due to the current small supply of babies available for adoption relative to the demand for those infants by prospective parents who are ready to pay, if they must, to get an infant, our society has experienced a degree of principle-shifting."

Sadly the lessons of the even recent past are quickly forgotten, ignored, brushed aside, and subverted, with self-righteous "principle-shifting" serving as the justification for thinly veiled dealing in humanity. As Tom Atwood, president of NCFA, trumpted in response to Masha's adoption "I mean, adoption is a wonderful thing. Think of the children. This is what it's all about."

Which brings me to Cambria County. For much of the past two years I have been imploring judges, politicians, social workers and government officials to act promptly to protect and secure Masha's civil legal rights.

Whether it involved filing an injunction against child pornographers like Peter Sotos or issuing DMCA takedown notices to websites like www.mycandidteens.com which shamelessly sports Masha's picture on its homepage (as a marker indicating that Masha's pornographic images are inside the pay site), those who claim to defend Masha's health and safety must champion her civil legal rights as well.

This is what the State Bar of Georgia told me in December 2006 and again in June 2007 as Masha's last counsel of record. And this is what I told Cambria County Judges Norman Krumenacker and Timothy Creany in December 2007: when an irresolvable conflict of interest exists between parties, a guardian must be appointed to insure the child's own interests.

The Philadelphia Bar Association agrees. In Ethics Opinion 96-3, it found that a lawyer should act with commitment and dedication to the interests of the client and with zeal in advocacy upon the client's behalf. The opinion also notes that this obligation exists despite opposition, obstruction or personal inconvenience to the lawyer. I have certainly experienced plenty of that.

As time passes, Masha's chances of recovering anything from any of the countless individuals and entities which damaged her decreases. Witnesses die or disappear. Companies go bankrupt and reorganize. Funds get dissipated. People forget.

Just this week the adoption agency that traded Masha's humanity ceased operation. Some of the potential defendants in the highly celebrated (but not yet implemented) Masha's Law cases have died or disappeared. Matthew Mancuso has spent some or all of his significant wealth defending himself in criminal actions in Pennsylvania and Florida.

We can not legitimately advocate for the health and safety of innocent victims of crime without acting decisively to safeguard the civil legal rights of children like Masha. Justice delayed is justice denied. Not only criminal justice but civil justice as well. And yet the "denials" continue. Surely Jeannene's prison wages can help pay Masha's bills.

An Obscene Betrayal

The United States District Attorney in Pittsburgh, Mary Beth Buchanan, has widely taken credit for rescuing Masha Allen and delivering Matthew Mancuso to federal prison. Now Buchanan is once again capturing national attention for a controversial obscenity prosecution involving fictional stories on the website RedRoseStories.com about the kidnapping, rape and torture of children.

The creator of the site, Karen Fletcher, is a social recluse who missed several court hearings in the case, United State v. Fletcher, because she is uncomfortable leaving her home in rural Pennsylvania.

Fletcher claims she wrote the stories for therapeutic value to help get over the abuse she suffered as a child. One of the rules for her web site, which her attorney said had about 20 members, was that no one was allowed to post pictures.

What makes this prosecution significant is that there has not been a case applying obscenity laws to text since the United States Supreme Court refined the test for obscenity in its 1973 case Miller v. California.

It is also significant that Buchanan has apparently ignored the obscene and highly exploitive writings of Peter Sotos who celebrates the girl Buchanan rescued, Masha Allen, as the world's first "child porn star."

Despite a national call to action last sumer, and numerous appeals to state officials in Georgia and Pennsylvania—including Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Cheryl Allen who Masha is named for—the Sotos book Show Adult continues to sell briskly at Amazon.com.

Sotos, who was the first person in the United States convicted for child pornography in the 1970s, is a seemingly compelling target. In less than a year, Show Adult has sold thousands of copies and Sotos enjoys a cult-like following throughout the world. Fletcher, on the other hand, has few resources and even fewer subscribers.

Amy Ginensky, a First Amendment attorney with Pepper Hamilton, said in an e-mail to The Legal Intelligencer that under the "contemporary community standards" standard of the Miller test, it would be difficult in this day and age to show that Fletcher's words were prurient.

She said one might wonder why the government is prosecuting this case instead of focusing on "real issues." "While child pornography prosecutions make sense, because there are victims involved, here there appears to be no victim at all," Ginensky said.

So why the official indifference to Masha's ongoing commercial and sexual exploitation? Why hasn't this crusading United States Attorney stood up for a "real victim" of child pornography, Masha Allen?

United States v. Fletcher will likely be tried in the next several months. For Masha Allen justice is a long time coming.