Parents plead not guilty to abuse charges

PALMER -- Family members and news camera crews crowded into a Palmer District courtroom Friday afternoon for the arraignment of Patrick and Sherry Kelley, a Wasilla couple accused of brutally abusing their five adopted children.

In a brief hearing, Superior Court Judge Eric Smith privately conferred with assistant district attorney Rachel Gernat and public defenders before scheduling an Oct. 29 preliminary hearing and a trial for Dec. 13.

Patrick and Sherry Kelley face multiple charges of kidnapping and felony assault after a two-month investigation by state troopers revealed a pattern of severe physical abuse of the Kelleys' five adopted children.

According to court records, the children were beaten with shovels, fists and steel pipes by both Patrick and Sherry. The children were also forced to perform manual labor for extended periods of time, deprived of adequate food and sleep, chained to trees and bricks, kept out of public school for the last three years and confined to the Kelleys' compound off Misty Lake Road near Wasilla.

The extended family of the three older children, who are all biological siblings, was on hand for the arraignment Friday.

"We're just trying to do what's right," said Ruth Buchanan, biological grandmother of the three oldest siblings, who cared for four of the five Kelley children in the years before they were sent to the Kelley household.

"They used to call me Mom," Buchanan said through tears. "The whole family loves these kids. We're just terrified by what happened and we're terrified it's going to continue."

Ruth and Don Buchanan were joined at the courthouse by their daughters, Rhonda Buchanan, Renee Carroll and her husband, Michael. They had come from Anchorage with other family members to hear the arraignment.

"We're seeking visitation right now and we might be seeking custody in the future," said Kenneth Kirk, an attorney representing the family. "We're working with the OCS [state Office of Children's Services] to make sure the children are in a safe place right now. If we don't feel they are in a safe place, we'll most likely seek custody. There are a lot of people involved in this and my clients have known nothing about what's been going on in recent years. They just found out about this situation on Wednesday night. They saw it on the news and were flabbergasted."

Kirk said Rhonda Buchanan asked OCS in 2000 about getting some kind of guardianship for the children, but OCS told her they already had an adoptive family for the children. An OCS social worker sang the praises of the Kelleys, Kirk said, and the Buchanans bought it.

"This falls back on the state," Michael Carroll said. "The Kelleys shut us out after the adoption. They wouldn't return our phone calls and they changed the kids' names and appearance."

David Houston, an attorney representing Sandra Forman, who is Sherry Kelley's sister and has been taking care of all five children, said the children are in a safe and loving environment and they want to keep them in that environment.

"Right now we're looking into how the kids could have been with the Kelleys so long with such abuse going on, and there was no action taken," Houston said. "Everyone wants to know how this happened and we're looking into the timeline and other events."

Betsy Wynn, a biological aunt of the youngest boy, arrived Thursday from Florida to check on the status of her nephew. The boy is not a biological sibling of the three oldest children and Wynn had applied, as one of his only biological relatives, to adopt him in May 2000. Wynn said she was approved in July 2000 but the OCS strongly encouraged her to let the Kelleys adopt him instead.

Wynn said both the Kelleys and a social worker for OCS asked her not to adopt her nephew "because he was so happy with the Kelleys." On a visit in May 2000, when the Kelleys were still living in Anchorage, Wynn said the Kelleys lived in a nice big house but she observed locks on the outside of all the doors and said she could feel the tension in the home.

"It was very strict," Wynn said. "I was never allowed to talk alone with [my nephew]. The kids were not allowed to answer questions and would always look at Sherry when asked a question."

Wynn said she told OCS of her concerns after the visit but that the state agency assured her it performed home visits and checked up on the children.

Marci Kennai, deputy commissioner for the Office of Children's Services, said that when they are looking for an adoptive home for foster children, there is a preference for relatives. But if a child has developed attachments to foster parents or siblings, they evaluate what would be best for the child and decide on that basis.

"In 99 percent of our cases we make the right decision," Kennai said. "And we always try to involve the family."

Contact John Davidson at john.davidson@frontiersman.com