Florida Child Sues Kids In Distress, ChildNet, Foster Parent for Sexual Assault

A Florida foster child who claims he was sexually abused by an allegedly known sexual predator has filed a lawsuit against Broward County child welfare administrators who placed him in the home of a man suspected of child molestation. The lawsuit claims officials with Kids In Distress and ChildNet failed to conduct sufficient background checks on the man. The boy, 7 years old at the time, was sexually victimization, a lawsuit filed Tuesday alleges.

“The suit claims that ChildNet and a subcontractor erred by granting a foster care license to then-49-year-old John Michael McGuigan — and by renewing the license repeatedly. The suit alleges that the 7-year-old, known only as R.S., was molested while in McGuigan’s care,” the Miami Herald wrote.

Officials with the agencies refused comment.

The case is more evidence of Florida’s failed experiment in privatizing child welfare services, said Howard Talenfeld, a Fort Lauderdale child abuse attorney and children’s advocate who filed the suit. “Another tragedy in Florida’s failed experiment at child welfare privatization,” Talenfeld said.