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Lora Loethen, 55, was convicted of second-degree child abuse and five counts of child neglect after pleading guilty on Thursday following an investigation into dozens of reports and police visits involving her adopted family in Damascus.
In March 2023, prosecutors say that one of Loethen's adopted daughters confided in another adult that she had been repeatedly been hit in the face by her "mother."
"During the early morning hours of (March 18, 2023) or (March 19, 2023), one of Loethen's adopted daughters was writing at her home desk when she was approached by her," court documents state.
"Loethen became very angry due to her misbehavior and began screaming and smacking (the girl) in the face. Loethen then grabbed (her) head and began smashing it on the desk," leaving her with a bruised and swollen eye.
The girl later told detectives that she had been abused and beaten since coming into the country approximately seven years ago.
According to the Montgomery County State's Attorney, "there was a lengthy history of complaints and evidence of neglect of the Loethen's other five adopted children" that went on for years.
Between August 2021 and March 2023, police had been dispatched to incidents involving the family 65 times and had written more than 30 reports, prosecutors said. Most of the reports were in regard to children having run away from the home.
“Every child in this community deserves our protection. The defendant sought to become the most trusted caretaker for these six children, yet she violated that trust, abusing vulnerable victims," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy stated.
"We are relieved that the children will not have to suffer any further trauma by participating in a trial,”
When she is sentenced in August, Loethen faces up to four years in prison and has terminated her parental rights to the six minor victims.
As part of her probation, Loethen will not be permitted to have any contact with the minor victims or any unsupervised contact with other minors.
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