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| Torry Hansen |
Before I get to the massive amount of child support Torry Hansen
now owes for the care of Artyom Avaeliev, I need to give you a little
background on this story. Artyom was adopted from Russia by Hansen and
apparently the novelty of being an adoptive mother wore off. Hansen wrote a
note saying she no longer wanted to be Artyom’s mother, gave it to the
7-year-old boy and put him on a plane, alone, back to Russia. This incredibly
callous move turned out to be detrimental not only to Artyom, but to other
children in Russia that were awaiting adoption, as Hansen cruel actions
contributed to a decision by Russia to delay adoptions by parents in the United
States. Russia recently approved a new agreement with the United States that
gives the country greater power to regulate international adoptions.
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| Artyom Avaeliev |
The adoption agency Hansen went through to adopt Artyom, The
World Association for Children and Parents, sued Hansen last year for child
support. Hansen has been doing her damnedest to contest the child support,
while also neglecting to respond to summons to appear in court or show up for
depositions. It appears Torry Hansen believes she shouldn’t be held responsible
for the care of Artyom because he was a flawed and allegedly violent child. According
to Nancy Hansen, Torry’s mother, Artyom was returned because he developed
serious behavioral problems, claiming he hit, screamed and spit at Torry. She
also claimed the boy threatened to burn down the Hansen home and kill family
members. In court, Torry Hansen herself said, “Without going into depth, I can
say he was very violent. I can say he wanted to kill me and he tried to kill my
sister.” She said Artyom threatened to stab her mother to death and then turned
on the tears while describing how the violent threats had sent her mother to
the emergency room.
What I find funny about all that, is that Hansen then said, "That
was when my parents decided to take him, because he was so violent.” Now, didn’t
this kid’s supposedly horrid behavior and threats just drive her mother to be admitted
to the emergency room, but now her parents are taking the child in? That doesn’t
quite add up, but okay. Hansen also said it was her parents’ decision to send
Artyom back to Russia alone on a plane, but that she agreed with the decision. She
must have, right, since she wrote that lovely note declaring she no longer
wanted her adopted son. In court, Hansen tried to claim her precious lawyers
did not keep her informed about the goings on in the case and told her she didn’t
have to go to court. She also used the birth of her daughter as an excuse,
saying she couldn’t come to court because of the pregnancy.
During cross examination, Hansen admitted she had never
called the police or Tennessee’s Department of Children’s services about his
behavioral issues. She said she “called numerous psychologists and was told
there would be a 6-week wait to get in.” She was asked if she knew a Russian
court determined her actions constituted neglect and abuse. Her answer was that
she was “aware that they felt putting him on the plane was emotionally
disturbing,” but also claimed she has “never mistreated or abused him or any
child.” Apparently, Hansen doesn’t understand how horribly she traumatized this
child by making him feel unwanted and unloved and sending him on a flight alone
to Russia with a note saying she didn’t want to be his mom. Larry Crain, the
attorney for the adoption agency, said Artyom spent six weeks in a psychiatric
hospital when he was returned to Russia due to the trauma he experienced.
The good news is that the Judge wasn’t buying Hansen’s bullshit,
saying she had not cooperated with the court, and upheld the judgment against Hansen,
ordering her to pay the $150,000 in child support. Her attorney, Edward Yarbrough,
said Hansen has been making child support payments and will continue to, but
that his client still has options, like appealing the order or requesting a
modification to it. What I found funny was the comments left on the articles
for this case. Some people bitched about the amount, while others said the
money should go straight to Artyom. What they don’t seem to understand, is that
Artyom is living in a group home now and the child support pays for the expense
of caring for him. Hansen legally adopted him, which makes him her son by law and
since she abandoned him, she is financially responsible for him. If she had
given birth to him and abandoned him, she’d be facing criminal charges, which
she’s avoided in this case, and once he became a ward of the court, she’d be
paying them child support. So either way, she would have to pay, but
unfortunately she got away with the abandonment. Hopefully, her new baby girl
turns out perfect or we may hear about her writing a note and dumping that
child off somewhere, too.
