Rep. Justin Harris from Arkansas and his wife, Marsha, have come under fire for “rehoming” their two adopted daughters; one of which was raped by the father in her new home.
Harris has been evading reporters since the 67-page affidavit became public, which reveals that the the 6-year-old girl was raped by her new adopted father, Eric Francis, just months after she was placed in the new home.
The Harris’ are being criticized for giving up the daughters they adopted and they will reportedly hold a press conference on Friday afternoon explaining their story.
In a statement to Little Rock’s KATV, Harris’ lawyer said on Thursday her clients have “suffered a severe injustice.”
The statement continued, “Due to threats of possible abandonment charges, they were unable to reach out to DHS for help with children who presented a serious risk of harm to other children in their home. Upon the advice of both a psychiatrist and a pediatrician, they were forced to move the children to the home of trusted friends, who had a lot of experience with children with reactive attachment disorder.”
“Rep. and Mrs. Harris are devastated about the outcome of that decision, but faced with no good option, they did the best that they knew how,” the statement continued.
Arkansas Times reports Francis was arrested in April 2014 and at the time, Harris said he was “devastated and sickened" by the sexual abuse. By November, Francis - a one-time employee of Harris' - was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The reason it’s coming up now is because the affidavit was just recently released.