Lawsuit: Hernando County mother claims children were sexually abused in foster care

TAMPA, Fla. - A Hernando County mother is suing the Department of Children and Families over abuse she said her kids endured at the hands of a foster family.

The mother, who is not being named to protect the identity of her children, said that while her 11 and 7-year-olds were in a Lake County foster home for seven months starting in August 2018, they were both sexually abused. The lawsuit said, before custody was transferred back to their mother, the perpetrator threatened violence if they ever told.

"She is depressed. She has severe anxiety," the mother said of her now-teenaged daughter. "She is always feeling that the perpetrator is going to be at her house, by her window, every noise."

Lake County deputies investigated, and in not filing charges, noted there were contradictions in what the children told them. The foster parents also denied anything inappropriate.

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But Kids Central, the licensing agency, wrote that in taking away the foster family's license, "While none of the reports were verified, the totality and pattern of the allegations of sex abuse raises significant concern."

The lawsuit said since the family was licensed in 2015, they have faced 10 investigations, and the mother's lawyer is suing DCF for negligence over their vetting process.

"I think when you have those type of allegations in play, a heck of a lot more needs to be done in order to make sure that wrongdoing isn't going on in foster care families," said family attorney Michael Winkleman.

Their mother said both children have had suicidal thoughts.

Of her pleas to caseworkers and the DCF hotline, the suit said they fell on deaf ears as she was repeatedly told her daughter was lying and having temper tantrums.

"We need to fix this system," said their mother. "We need the correct people to come in and say you are not doing your job properly, and we need to fix this."

DCF has not immediately responded to our request for comment.