Former child trauma counselor gets 25 years after pleading guilty to abusing foster kids
A former child trauma counselor who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting four boys under his care as a foster parent or adoptive father was sentenced to 25 years in prison Wednesday.
Cornelius R. Smith, 51, of Milwaukee was accused in March of abusing the four boys continuously for years. They came under his care between 2013 and 2021 and three of them were eventually adopted by Smith.
Three of the boys were under age 13 at the time of the abuse and the fourth was under age 16, according to court records.
Smith was charged with nine felonies, including multiple counts of sexual assault and incest. On Wednesday, Smith pleaded guilty three counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child and another count of second-degree sexual assault of a child. All other counts were dismissed.
Milwaukee County Judge David Swanson sentenced Smith to 25 years in prison, followed by 10 years of extended supervision in the same hearing, according to online court records.
Smith would beat the children with a footlong wooden stick, would regularly give them melatonin and THC edibles and outfitted the interior of his home with cameras, according to the criminal complaint. One of the boys, who's now an adult, told investigators the abuse he suffered made him suicidal.
Smith first received his license as a foster parent in 2005 and eventually obtained a license as a “treatment foster parent,” which means he was certified in caring for children with moderate to significant specialized needs as a result of trauma with abuse, neglect or witnessing domestic violence; emotional and behavioral disorders; complex medical needs; or developmental and cognitive delays.
Smith was licensed as a foster parent through the Wellpoint Care Network from 2019 until his arrest this year, according to records from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
"The foster care licensing process we have in place, from initial license application to the renewal of a license, requires extensive background checks and thorough documentation regarding any potential applicant’s history of child abuse or neglect," the Wellpoint Care Network said in a statement. "Our application and renewal process continues to emphasize the importance of reducing any risk of abuse to happen to a child."
He also spent the last 12 years working in the trauma and counseling field for children and families. For a year, starting in mid-2021, he worked as a trauma specialist for Kids Matter Inc., which provides services for abused and neglected children in Milwaukee County.
In June, Susan Conwell, the executive director of the Kids Matter, Inc., said she found no allegations of wrongdoing by Smith while employed at the organization after notifying families who worked with Smith and the organization’s volunteers.
Contact Elliot Hughes at elliot.hughes@jrn.com or 414-704-8958. Follow him on Twitter @elliothughes12.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Milwaukee child trauma counselor pleads guilty to abusing foster kids
