Gary man charged with molesting girl, fathering her childrenElijah Roberson already a convicted felon when his adoption of her was approved
By Marisa Kwiatkowski -
marisa.kwiatkowski@nwi.com, (219) 662-5333 | Posted: Thursday, December 31, 2009 12:05 am
CROWN POINT | A Gary man charged Thursday for repeatedly molesting his underage blood relative and fathering her two children was allowed to adopt the girl despite being a convicted felon, Lake Criminal Court records show.
Elijah Roberson, 47, faces four felonies -- two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor and one count each of child molesting and incest -- for the alleged sexual relationship, records state.
The girl told Lake County police that a relative began having sex with her in 2003, when she was 11 years old.
Roberson and his wife at the time adopted the girl in the early 2000s in Kern County, Calif. Before that, the girl lived in a foster home in Indiana, records state.
Court records show Roberson was able to adopt the girl despite a 1994 felony conviction for armed robbery. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and released in 1999.
Officials from the Indiana Department of Child Services and Kern County Superior Courts in California said they could not comment because adoption records are confidential.
But DCS spokeswoman Ann Houseworth said Indiana did not require background checks for adoptions until July 2006.
Under current Indiana law, Roberson would undergo background checks through FBI and Child Protective Services databases, as well as a home study to ensure the child's safety took place.
His criminal history would weigh against him.
Lake Juvenile Court Judge Mary Beth Bonaventura said a petitioner's criminal past would be seriously considered in adoption cases, which her court handles.
"First and foremost, we make sure the parties are safe," the judge said. "If there is a serious criminal history, we don't grant those adoptions."
Bonaventura said she has no record of any guardianship or adoption being granted to Roberson in Lake County.
Court records state his and the girl's sexual contact started in East Chicago and continued after the family moved back to California in the summer of 2003.
Roberson's wife left him in 2006, shortly after his and the girl's first child was born, records state.
Roberson and the girl later moved back to Northwest Indiana, where their sexual relationship continued, court records state.
The girl tried to tell someone about the sexual abuse, but that person either did not believe her or refused to do anything.
The girl eventually fled to a relative's home in Ohio after she became pregnant with her second child in 2007. She told that relative about the sexual abuse, and the relative contacted Ohio authorities, records show.
Lake County police were contacted by Ohio authorities in September and began their own investigation, Lake County Police Chief Marco Kuyachich said.
Officers secured a warrant to collect a buccal swab of Roberson's mouth for DNA testing. The results, received Dec. 21, found with 99.9 percent certainty that Roberson is the two children's father, court records state.
The girl, now 17, and her two children, ages 3 and 1, are currently wards of the state in Ohio. The girl is in one foster home while her two children are together in another, Kuyachich said.
The children do not appear to suffer any complications as a result of their parents' biological relationship.
Lake County police arrested Roberson on Thursday at his Gary home, Kuyachich said. He is being held in the Lake County Jail without an opportunity to post bail.