Most people who adopt children are kind, loving people who just want the chance to complete their family.
But then there are those who are just out for themselves.
That appears to be the basis of a dramatic 24 hours of posts and comments on the Legal Advice subreddit yesterday.
It all kicked off when Reddit user wtfisthislegal first posted about her co-worker's weird Facebook postings about one of her adopted children (the user has since deleted her account).
The Redditor claimed that "Mary" constantly talked and posted on Facebook about wanting to "get rid" of one of eight adopted kids - a child from Ukraine.
"Mary" was advertising that she wanted to "re-home" him.
The Redditor was posting the story with the aim of getting legal advice regarding which authorities she should contact about the situation.
Here's what the concerned Redditor wrote:
"So, my co-worker is kind of a weirdo (I'll call her Mary for the sake of this post). Her and her husband are one of those people that have a ton of adopted kids (eight so far) and are super religious. To each his own.
Mary enjoys telling everyone at work her business, so when she decided to adopt a kid from the Ukraine, everyone heard about it. She went with an older kid because it was easier for her and her husband (she says). This was two years ago.
Mary has asked me to babysit the boy a couple of times (I'll call him Tony), and it's never been a problem because I like kids.
I didn't see any glaring problems despite Mary's constant dramatics about how awful the kid was and he seemed to like being over (it's just me and my boyfriend here, and our place is small but clean and really well kept. Mary's house is...disgusting for lack of a better word).
Mary would harp constantly about how much Tony liked it at our house but I just chalked it up to the kid having a good time.
Lately Mary has been at work, talking to anyone that'll listen about how awful Tony is, how horrible he is to the other kids, and how she's going to get rid of him. She sent out a freaking mass email to everyone in our department asking if someone wanted to take her kid from her.
She calls it "re-homing" and that its okay. I logged onto Facebook today and same story...she has pics of Tony posted to her timeline advertising him for re-adoption and to contact her if interested!!
I haven't replied to her email yet, and I haven't commented on her post but I'm this close to ripping into her for what she's doing. She's crossed the line from weird into full blown psycho. Should I call CPS? I called the police just now, but they sounded completely confused on what to do.
They agreed to a welfare check. The post is still up. Is this really legal?! I don't know much about adoption and a quick search for rehoming gets me mostly results about animals. Any advice?
EDIT: Shit has hit the fan. There's mass insanity right now, but I'll have an update for everyone tonight. Most importantly: the kids are safe."
Most commenters advised the poster to call child protective services:
"Dude, call CPS and let them assess and address, as is their job," wrote one Redditor.
Over 200 people weighed in on the situation, and waited eagerly to see what would happen. When wtfisthislegal returned to Reddit, she provided a detailed update that will make any decent person's stomach turn.
After contacting the authorities, the original poster revealed that not only was the boy in question's adoption illegal, but it was likely that all of the kids were adopted illegally and all of them were removed from the home.
Not only that, but "Mary" had the nerve to show up to work the next day and ask for time off to fight to get her children back. The latest news is that Mary has been dismissed from work.
The original poster, who offered to take Tony in temporarily, expressed her gratitude to her fellow Redditors for making her realise that she was right to be worried, and for pointing her in the direction of the most suitable authorities.
Like everyone else, she's now just hoping that it all works out for the best for young Tony.
"I'm sincerely touched by the genuine concern all of you had for Tony and his siblings and I hope one day I can tell Tony that despite everything that's happened, there's people out there like you guys that care about him."
"The information you guys gave us helped us act fast and got the ball rolling on this situation faster than me and my boyfriend would've figured out alone."
"I don't know what the f**k was happening in Mary's house that made CPS remove them that night, but I'm going to sleep better knowing that they aren't with psycho ass Mary and her husband, at least for awhile."
"What the future holds for Tony and the other kids (especially because Tony's adoption was apparently illegal) makes me sick…but I'm going to wish for the best."
Thanks to the internet, and this poster in particular, it looks like little Tony won't have to put up with this mistreatment anymore. You go, Redditors.
