Shelbyville, TENN. - Adoption advocates say Torry Hansen had options to get her adopted, Russian born son, named Justin, out of her house rather than sending him on a one-way flight, alone, back to his native homeland.
"This child could've been placed with the state of Tennessee for temporary foster care and then placed for adoption," said Debbie Robinson, a family counselor who's also executive director of Miriam's Promise in Nashville, an adoption agency. "This child could've been placed with a qualified, licensed agency for placement services so that we could've found - somebody like us, or Catholic Charities, could've found a family."
Robinson admits internationally adopted children, especially Russian born children, can be an extra challenge for American parents. But Robinson also says there are supports in place for parents, prior to cutting ties.
So, should the 33-year-old Hansen, a single, registered nurse for the VA hospital in Murfreesboro, be criminally charged?
"If I, as a parent, had put my 7-year-old on a plane and sent him to Seattle with a note for somebody to take him to an orphanage, would I be charged with abuse and neglect? Probably so," Robinson said.
When Russian government officials learned a U.S. mother sent her son back on a plane by himself, they were outraged. Now adoptions between American parents and Russian children have been put on hold, indefinitely.
During an interview in Russia, the 7-year-old told investigators he was abused by Hansen while he live in the United States.
Bedford County Sheriff's investigators are now looking into those allegations.
At this time, Torry Hansen, a nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Murfreesboro, does not face any charges.
Debbie Robinson is a family counselor who's also executive director of Miriam's Promise in Nashville, an adoption agency.
