News

Actions

Adoptive parents ‘returned’ 9-year-old boy they raised since an infant

Posted at 12:14 AM, Nov 27, 2013
and last updated 2013-11-27 00:14:24-05

A suburban Cincinnati house used be home to a family of three.

But according to court documents, Cleveland and Lisa Cox decided they no would no longer keep their 9-year-old adopted son.

They have been the adopted boy's parents since he was an infant, but they recently turned him over to the very local government from which they brought him home.

“I don’t see any  9-year-old  children as being bad seeds,” said Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser.

The couple reported that the boy displayed aggressive behavior, and dropped him with the county’s children's services, but Gmoser isn’t buying it.

Now the country has taken legal action against them, and both have been indicted for abandoning their child.

"It's something that you don't hear about too often, and when you do hear about it, it's heartbreaking," Richmond mom Cindy Diehl said.

The news of the Ohio story has reached adoption advocates and parents across the country, reaching all the way to Rchmond. Cindy Diehl has two adopted children and two biological ones.

"My hope is that this family in Ohio, that before they made this decision, they would have sought out the resources," Diehl said.

Diehl will be the first to admit that parenting isn't easy but said the adoption community has a huge network of support and help available.

"I honestly feel like I had more training to become an adoptive parent than I did a biological one," said Diehl.

Diehl said initially the plan was to adopt just one child from Taiwan but then she got a call.

"Listen your little guy you've got at home has a little brother, do you want to come back and adopt him?" Diehl said.

She took that call a few Novembers ago and never looked back.

"This time of year we're thankful that we were chosen to be their parents," said Diehl.