A Tragic Adoption Experience

by Fatherofeight | More from this Blogger

17 Dec 2006 03:25 PM

Two years ago, the nation was shocked by the story of the adoptive mother who took her children to Nigeria and left them there. One of the children, who is now a teenager, has given an interview to tell her side of the story.

When she was five years old, she and her three siblings were removed from their home because of physical abuse by a drug addicted parent. They spent three years in the state foster system. Then she and her siblings were adopted by a lady named Mercury Liggins.

Apparently, there was a trial period for the adoption in which the mother behaved and took care of the children. According to the daughter, as soon as this period was over, the mother was gone a lot and the children ate at free meal programs. There was a Bible school program that had long hours available for child care and the kids spent a lot of time there.

In 2001, three more children were adopted by Mercury Liggins. From 1997-2003, state records indicate that officials were called to investigate the home five times. No charges came out of any of the investigations.

In October, 2003, the mother told the children that she was taking them to a boarding school in Italy. Instead she took them to Nigeria. The mother soon left, leaving them with the brother of her fiancée. Soon, they were moved to a Nigerian boarding school.

In 2004, the mother called the children to tell them that they were not coming back. Soon, the money for the boarding school was gone. This led to beatings at the school. The children wound up in an orphanage where they lived in deplorable conditions.

The children tried to convince Nigerian authorities that they were American citizens. No one believed them because they did not have passports. The mother had taken the passports when she left.

The children were discovered by a Houston pastor on a missions trip to Nigeria. He made a call to his congressman, who called federal authorities, and the children were returned to the United States. The mother was convicted of stealing $443,000 from the State of Texas because she took adoption subsidy payments for caring for the children. She is currently serving a 25 year prison sentence.

An over-burdened child protective system failed. The mother was approved to adopt seven children in two separate cases. She was clearly unfit for such a task. There are so many children that need to be adopted that there is a lot of pressure to approve prospective parents. If the children had been removed from the home, there was probably no place to put them.

The real failure is in our society. The children went from an abusive home, to foster homes, to an abusive adoptive home. They are once again in foster care. The only solution to this problem is for more qualified, caring people to adopt children who need homes. I would be very interested if you have a solution.

Related Blog:

The Child Protection System is in Trouble

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PATTI (580) 18 Dec 2006 11:47 AM

This article was really good. The injustice of it all is very sad. Keep your articles coming.They are very informative. PATTI

Fatherofeight (2475) 18 Dec 2006 12:40 PM

Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate you too.

Linda Hansen (1796) 19 Dec 2006 06:24 PM

Unfortunately the system is very flawed. We too are in Texas and went through the state. Every step was new to us and although there were attorneys and caseworkers all around us, our questions went unanswered or we were given different advice, depending on who we talked to. It was a nightmare, but we got through it. Had someone taken the time to explain to us, we wouldv'e received more help than we got. Artcraft

Fatherofeight (2475) 19 Dec 2006 09:01 PM

Art, I relate to every word.