Clearwater police reopen investigation into couple accused of abusing foster boys
Clearwater police have reopened an investigation of a couple accused in a recently filed lawsuit of abusing at least 20 foster boys over a period of decades.
The Clearwater Police Department responded to a report of neglect and abuse at Jerold and Jacklyn Logemann’s home in January, but closed the case after police said they didn’t find enough evidence to corroborate the allegations. However, nine boys were removed from the home, according to a police report. A separate Department of Children and Families investigation also did not find evidence of abuse, but recommended that foster children no longer be sent to the Logemann’s house.
Clearwater Police Chief Dan Slaughter said on Wednesday that the agency reopened its investigation after others came forward with allegations.
“Some additional people have come forward and the case was reactivated to conduct additional interviews,” he said in a statement. “The case will remain active while the new information is investigated.”
Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bruce Bartlett said his office began looking into the allegations after a Tampa Bay Times reporter asked him about the case for a story about the lawsuit. Bartlett said prosecutors have been in touch with Clearwater detectives about information contained in the complaint.
Rick Escobar, an attorney representing the Logemanns, said his law firm conducted its own investigation after the boys were removed from the home. Escobar said police have an obligation to investigate when someone comes forward, but he is “anticipating that the same result as the previous investigation is going to prevail.”
“We have not been informed that the Clearwater Police Department has reopened an investigation but I am quite confident in the investigation that we did, where clearly it showed that no allegations of abuse were substantiated by any evidence whatsoever,” he said.
The civil case was initiated after one of the Logemann’s former foster boys saw news coverage of the January incident. The man connected with a West Palm Beach attorney, Adam Hecht, and shared his story. Others came forward, and they filed a lawsuit in March. After news coverage of the lawsuit, six more people have signed onto the case, which now totals 26 plaintiffs, Hecht said on Wednesday.
Hecht said his clients are pleased Clearwater police have reopened the case after they spent years feeling their voices were unheard. Nearly a dozen social service agencies, including the Department of Children and Families, are named in the lawsuit and are accused of ignoring signs of abuse or complaints by the foster children.
The lawsuit alleges that Jerold Logemann sexually abused foster boys who were staying at his home and that the Logemanns withheld food and took money from the boys after forcing them to do landscaping jobs in various neighborhoods. The abuse complaints go as far back as the late 1990s, the suit states.
