Charges relate to acceptance of adoption subsidies

Missing boy's parents face charges of theft
http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/08/1394893/charges-relate-to-acceptance-of.html#ixzz0t9OPgzko

BY TIM POTTER
The Wichita Eagle
Posted on Thu, Jul. 08, 2010

Doug and Valerie Herrman walk out of the Butler County Jail on Wednesday afternoon after they were booked on charges of felony theft. The couple is charged with claiming their adopted son, Adam Herrman, as a dependent for years after he disappeared in 1999.Fourth-grade photo of Adam Herrman released by the Butler County Sheriff's Department 01/05/2009. Herrman was last seen in 1999 when he was 11 or 12 years old. An investigation is proceeding in the case.· Read previous coverage of the Adam Herrman case at our special section·
Herrmans booked on theft charges·
Read the charging complaint against Douglas Herrman·
Read the charging complaint against Valerie Herrman·
Doug and Valerie Herrman charged with felony theft

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Herrmans booked on theft charges
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Doug and Valerie Herrman charged with felony theft

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EL DORADO — The Adam Herrman mystery entered a new chapter Wednesday when a prosecutor charged Herrman's adoptive parents with a crime related to his disappearance more than a decade ago.In announcing that she was charging Doug and Valerie Herrman with felony theft over adoption subsidies they allegedly accepted for years after he disappeared, Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield continued to call the Herrmans suspects in something more serious — the disappearance and presumed death of the boy.Authorities didn't learn of the 11-year-old's disappearance from his Towanda home until December 2008 — more than nine years afterward. There still is no trace of him."The Adam Herrman homicide investigation continues," Satterfield said in a statement she read during a news conference at the county courthouse. "A prosecution for murder may be commenced at any time."Speaking of the felony theft charge each of the parents face, she said, "This is not the beginning and end. This is just the beginning for the Herrmans."The theft charges are related to the alleged fraudulent receipt of $52,800 in government assistance for Adam's care. The couple continued to submit subsidy forms saying the boy lived in their home and continued to claim him as a dependent on their income tax returns and in court documents for six years after his disappearance , the charges state.Trevor Riddle, an attorney representing Doug Herrman, said in a brief statement that the theft accusation is a "technical financial charge" and that the Herrmans will plead not guilty and "vigorously seek dismissal" of the charges.Riddle declined to respond to Satterfield's comments about the homicide investigation.The Herrmans, in their 50s, each posted a $50,000 bond on the theft charges late Wednesday afternoon after voluntarily reporting to the Butler County Jail in response to warrants issued against them. As they left the jail, they walked, holding hands, to a car with an Oklahoma license tag and a bumper sticker reading "Real men pray."They face a first appearance on the charges in Butler County District Court at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.Authorities don't think the Herrmans are a flight risk, Satterfield said. She said they no longer live in Kansas but declined to say where they reside.Authorities have been aware of the Herrmans' location and "have kept an eye on them," Satterfield said.The charges were filed Wednesday to avoid questions of whether the five-year statute of limitations on the charges has expired. According to Satterfield, the Herrmans allegedly cashed the last state adoption subsidy check on July 8, 2005 — six years after Adam's disappearance.There is no statute of limitations for homicide, Satterfield noted.Regarding the homicide investigation, Satterfield said, "There has been a lot of things going on in the case behind the scenes. We are proceeding cautiously."She announced that she has appointed Kevin O'Connor, a former Sedgwick County deputy district attorney, as a special prosecutor on the Adam Herrman case.She and O'Connor stressed that the investigation has not been forgotten."We're talking about a little boy," O'Connor said.Satterfield has previously said that a grand jury could be convened to review the case and decide whether to issue indictments. On Wednesday, she said a grand jury could take up the case anytime within the next several months.There continues to be no credible information that Adam is alive, Satterfield said.He would be 23.Satterfield, who is running for a judgeship, said that she has no doubt that whoever ends up being the county attorney will continue to pursue the case.As it stands, she said, "Our burden will be how he died" and who did it.No trace of Adam has been found despite intensive searches of the Towanda mobile home park where the family lived and an area around the Whitewater River.The couple adopted Adam when he was about 2.In an interview with The Eagle early last year, Valerie Herrman said that in early May 1999, when Adam was 11, he ran away from their mobile home and didn't return after she spanked him with a belt. She said she didn't report him missing because she feared it would cause her and her husband to lose custody of Adam and their other children.Relatives said that Valerie Herrman told them that Adam, who was being home-schooled, had been returned to state custody.His disappearance came to light in late 2008 after an adoptive sister said she tried to find him to apologize for the way he had been treated growing up.After she expressed concerns about him to authorities, Butler County investigators began digging in the mobile home park, searching for human remains. Using search dogs, they also probed in woods along the Whitewater River.
Reach Tim Potter at 316-268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/07/08/1394893/charges-relate-to-acceptance-of.html#ixzz0t9OZjErJ

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Adoptive Parents of Adam Herrman post bond.
The DA in Butler County, Satterfield, said she is still pursuing a homicide investigation and considers the Herrmans as suspects in the death of Adam Herrman.

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Adam's family happy with charges; wants more answers

http://www.kwch.com/news/kwch-news-cej-herrman-grand-jury-basics,0,5207704.story

BUTLER COUNTY, Kansas –

Adam Herrman’s biological family is reacting to news that fraud charges have been filed against his adoptive parents. "I would have liked for this to have happened a long time ago,” said Tiffany Broadfoot, Adam’s biological sister. Charges were filed Wednesday against Doug and Valerie Herrman, Adam’s adoptive parents. But they weren’t charges Adam’s biological family had been hoping for. It’s been two-and-a-half years since Adam’s biological family discovered that the boy they believed was living a normal life in Butler County had been missing for nearly a decade. "That's our biggest concern -- where is he, what happened, why didn't we find out about it sooner?” said Tiffany. They are questions that still remain unanswered despite the fact that Adam’s adoptive parents have been charged in the case. Prosecutors charged them Wednesday with fraud for accepting more than $50,000 in government money for Adam’s care for six years after he disappeared. "I'm glad there's finally going to be some movement on the case,” said Irvin Groeninger, Adam’s biological father. Prosecutors maintain this is just the beginning. The Herrman’s are still suspects in the disappearance and possible murder of the boy. And a grand jury on more serious charges could convene at any time. "That part makes me really excited that they're not just going to give up on it, they're not just going to bring them up on fraud charges and push them under the table,” Tiffany said. “It's a constant reminder that we're still out here and we're still looking and you’re still busted.” Still, both Tiffany and Irvin say they are getting impatient as they wait for answers. "I'm hoping this will lead to what happened, what led to his disappearance, where he went, what happened to him,” said Irvin. “I want him to come home alive or dead. I would like him to come to Indiana and be with me."The attorneys for Doug and Valerie Herrman maintain the couple had nothing to do with the disappearance of the Adam. They are scheduled to be back in court later this month.

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How murder charges could be filed against Herrmans

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/Adams-family-happy-with-charges-wants-more-answers/9uBdJXtg-UOwRE36O49kxA.cspx

5:07 p.m. CDT, July 8, 2010

BUTLER COUNTY, Kan. —

Fraud charges have been filed, but prosecutors want more. Doug and Valerie Herrman turned themselves in Wednesday to the Butler County Jail and bonded out later in the afternoon. They're charged with welfare fraud for allegedly accepting state payments even though their adopted son, Adam Herrman, had disappeared years earlier.Adam Herrman, 11, was last seen in 1999. Two family members contacted SRS in 2008 after trying to locate him.Though searches by the Butler County Sheriff didn't turn up Adam's body, prosecutors believe the boy was killed. Butler County Attorney Jan Satterfield plans to pursue homicide charges.For now, Satterfield says she hopes to present her case to a grand jury sometime this fall.By law, prosecutors need a majority of judges in their district to agree to convene a grand jury. In Butler County, that would mean three out of four judges. Then, Satterfield would present evidence to 15 jurors, all members of the public. Prosecutors need 12 to agree to indict the Herrmans on some type of homicide charge.Jack Focht, a Wichita attorney and former prosecutor, has convened grand juries before and prosecuted the nation's first bodiless murder case in 1976.Focht says the old attorney saying goes that prosecutors could get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich if they wanted to. However, he believes the Herrman case will be a difficult one for prosecutors, assuming it goes to trial."Sometimes, a grand jury is utilized as a sounding board saying this is all we've got," says Focht. "Do you think this points to it? Then you get a sense of the community perhaps."Satterfield says the ability to see how members of the public react to her evidence will be important, and that's part of why she's looking into a grand jury. It would also give her an idea whether potential jurors would want more information or evidence at trial. Grand juries can act as investigative bodies, too, by subpoenaing more witnesses or evidence.The Herrmans have previously told Eyewitness News that Adam ran away in 1999, and they didn't report him missing for fear they'd lose their other children to state custody. They're expected back in court Wednesday for a first appearance on the welfare fraud charges.

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Previous coverage from the Adam Herrman case:

http://www.kansas.com/adam/