Review on Abuse Article

Diane and Timothy Combs were arrested and sentenced in Dearborn Country, Indiana for crimes that they committed against children from 2014 through 2019. The couple was provided the opportunity to serve as foster parents for 38 children during this time frame, and while the decision to act as foster parents is one that burdens tremendous responsibility these two failed in what they set out to do. Specifically, the two were found to have committed numerous acts of child abuse and violence against the children that they were watching, some of whom were as young as six-years-old, with abuse extending into their late teens. The article covering the discovery and sentencing of their crimes, notably, failed to go into depth about the motivations behind the couple’s actions. It was mentioned that some of the abuse suffered by the children included being severely beaten and forced to hold dirty diapers in their mouths if they ever urinated in their beds at night. The lack of information about the motivations behind the couple’s actions suggests that there could be a litany of factors that may have influenced them. While it is possible that they may have been unable to face their own personal life traumas, it is also possible that the two were simply extremely cruel individuals.

It is noted that Diane and Timothy Combs had been able to carry out this child maltreatment between for nearly five years without being detected. The offices that they worked with in order to continue fostering children must certainly have been unaware of the issues that the children were facing because otherwise their privilege to serve as foster parents would have been revoked. This means that very few people were aware that the crimes were being committed, but this does not mean that absolutely nobody was aware. First, both Diane and Timothy were fully aware of the gravity of the crimes they were committing; this eliminates the possibility that only one of the two was guilty or acting alone. The children they were abusing were also aware, even if not all of them were being directly abused. Diane and Timothy were only charged for a few specific incidents of abuse that they carried out or participated in, meaning that they did not necessarily abuse all the children that were under their care, though it was possible that they did.

The discovery and eventual prosecution of Diane and Timothy’s crimes began with one of the children that were under their care. Having borrowed a phone from a friend, a teenage foster child was able to record and incident of abuse, show it someone else, and have a law enforcement agency intervene. This effort to act against Diane and Timothy came after years of abuse even though it is likely all the children knew. The reason that they may have been unwilling to come forward, however, is that they may have feared retaliation from the couple if they were not formally found guilty of doing anything illegal. Obtaining video evidence of an incident of abuse allowed the child to gain the confidence necessary to reach out for support from someone else, in part because they knew that the video could conclusively support their claims.

Victims of abuse typically find themselves restricted in who they can speak to and, by extension, where they can find help. This specific case of serial abuse makes it clear that abusers often find ways of restricting the freedoms of their victims in order to remain in total control over their environment and do anything they want. The consequences of allowing abusers to continue behaving inappropriately without any checks or balances are clear; people of all ages can suffer for years before being offered any conclusive help. However, this case also proves that it is important to find ways of offering people confidential places where they can seek out help without needing to share all their intimate details. These safe spaces can act as a way for people to explain their specific circumstances, creating strategies for collecting information and challenging abuse in all its forms over time. Diane and Timothy each received lengthy sentences for the abuse that they committed, including both jail and parole time that will hopefully lead to their rehabilitation.

Reference

Fox, (2019). Indiana Foster Parents Sentenced after egregious Child Abuse Caught on Camera. Retrieved from https://fox59.com/2019/09/18/indiana-foster-parents-sentenced-after-egregious-child-abuse-caught-on-camera/