'They saw red flags': Foster mom of tortured 4-year-old calls for criminal investigation into DCS

The foster mother of a 4-year-old boy who was beaten and tortured by his own parents is calling for a criminal investigation into the Indiana Department of Child Services' handling of the boy's case, accusing the agency of multiple failures, including ignoring troubling signs of abuse and neglect.

Judah Morgan died on Oct. 11, 2021, six months after DCS removed him from his foster home and placed him in the custody of his biological parents. Police found him in his family's home in rural LaPorte County, his face and head covered with bruises and red marks. Court records say he'd been tied up with duct tape in the basement, starved and beaten for not being potty-trained.

The boy's father, Alan Morgan, is serving a 70-year prison sentence for murder and other charges. His mother, Mary Yoder, is serving 40 years for neglect of a dependent and domestic battery.

But Jenna Hullett, Judah's foster mother and his estate's representative, said more people deserve to be prosecuted for the boy's death.

"Judah deserves full justice. DCS, I believe, is just as guilty as the biological parents," Hullett said. "They saw red flags. There were warning signs."

Charles Rice, Hullett's attorney, said the investigation should look into potential wrongdoing by DCS case workers who were in charge of Judah's case. Lawsuits filed against the agency and three employees alleged they were fully aware that the boy was at risk, but they prematurely closed the case and placed him in the custody of drug-addicted parents with a history of abuse and neglect.

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In the three years since Judah died, DCS has yet to conduct any internal investigation into the alleged failures and has, instead, sought immunity from civil damages over the boy's death, Rice wrote in an email to the agency's attorneys on Tuesday. Rice suggested an independent investigation should be conducted by the Indiana State Inspector General or by a law enforcement agency such as the Indiana State Police or the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office.

"If DCS continues to condone the individual and collective wrongdoing which led to Judah's death, more children will suffer and die," Rice wrote. "The recent deaths of other children in the DCS system highlights the need for DCS to immediately reform, hold individuals accountable, and show more interest in protecting children than protecting itself."

In an email responding to Rice Thursday, DCS' attorneys said they have reviewed "thousands of pages of documents" and talked to employees involved in the case and concluded "DCS employees acted reasonably over the course of their involvement in this matter.  We have made this position clear in the civil lawsuits that you have filed seeking money damages."

The statement concluded: "DCS remains bound by confidentiality under Indiana law and cannot respond to the misrepresentations that have been portrayed to the media or otherwise comment about this ongoing litigation. We will speak about the case through our pleadings filed in court."

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The agency already faces questions about its ability to adequately protect children who are either in its custody or are in abusive family situations. At least two children who had been involved with DCS died in April, which Gov. Eric Holcomb had designated as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Five-year-old Kinsleigh Welty, of Indianapolis, was locked in a squalid closet for months before dying of malnutrition on April 9. Three weeks later, 10-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens died while in the care of a foster parent. DCS had significant involvements with both children and their families.

In 2022, 61 children in Indiana died from abuse and neglect, according to DCS' latest annual child fatality report. A deeper review of the report reveals that in 38 deaths ― 62% of the fatalities ― DCS had been aware of prior allegations of abuse or neglect involving the children or their caregivers.

'Mommy, please take me home'

The last time Hullett saw Judah, she said he wrapped his little arms and legs around her and begged her not to leave him.

"Mommy, please take me home," the 3-year-old whispered as he nuzzled his face against his foster mother's neck.

Hullett fought the urge to whisk the boy away. She'd been caring for him since he was four months old, shortly after DCS took custody of the infant who was born with drugs in his system. But two months before Judah's fourth birthday, the child welfare agency removed him from Hullett's care and placed him in his parents' home.

That day in April 2021, Hullett dropped off Judah at his parents' home. She told him that she loved him, sat him down and turned away toward the door, hoping the boy wouldn't see that she was upset. She said that was the last time she saw him alive.

Hullett, who was cousins with Judah's father, did not feel comfortable leaving him with his parents. The family lived in squalor, she said. Garbage and dirty clothes were strewn everywhere. Officers who arrived at the house the day Judah was killed said it was littered with rotting food and animal fecal matter, according to court records.

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The living conditions bothered Hullett so much that she said she made an anonymous call to the local health department, which then referred her to DCS. She said Judah's caseworker informed her the house met minimum standards.

Hullett, who has three adult children, said Judah was the child she didn't know she needed. The boy with big brown eyes and curly blonde hair loved to make people laugh.

"If he got a little big of laugh out of you," she said, "he would continue to clown around just to get you to laugh."

On Oct. 11, 2021, Hullett posted a picture of Judah smiling while sitting in his car seat.

"Today is the worst day of my life," she wrote on Facebook. "This should never have happened."

Hullett would've loved for Judah to be officially part of her family, but she said DCS failed to find a permanent home for him, whether with her or with someone else.

"I don't want another child to go through what Judah went through," she said. "I don't want another family to lose a child like we did. It's the worst thing you could ever imagine."

DCS seeking to dismiss lawsuits

One of the lawsuits filed in federal court in Northern Indiana against three DCS employees alleges they performed "sham investigations," downplayed concerns by relatives, withheld court-ordered services for Judah, and failed to perform mandated drug tests for his parents.

Named as defendants are Jean Dreessen, Judah's family case manager who, according to the complaint, lived just down the street from his parents' home; Michelle Stowers, who was Dreessen's supervisor; and Michelle Goebel, director of the LaPorte County DCS.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed in state court against DCS and the boy's parents alleges that Morgan and Yoder physically and psychologically abused their son. Judah was fully potty trained when he was brought to his parents' home, but he regressed and began peeing and defecating on himself because of the abuse.

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DCS is seeking to dismiss both lawsuits, arguing that Hullett does not have standing to sue because she is not Judah's parent or legal guardian. In the federal case against the DCS staffers, the agency's attorneys argued that as public employees, they are entitled to qualified immunity shielding them from liability.

Rice, Hullett's attorney, said the problems at DCS are systemic and "bigger than just a lawsuit."

"They're the agency charged with protecting children," Rice said. "And if they're unable to protect the children in their custody that they already know about, imagine what's happening with the children they have no idea about."

Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana DCS ignored red flags in Judah Morgan case, foster mother says