An Arizona pedophile recently convicted of child sex crimes had been allowed by the state to be a foster parent. His former foster child, who spent twelve long years living in the man’s home, enduring physical and sexual abuse, has filed a $15 million lawsuit against two state agencies saying they did nothing to protect him.
Tuscon attorney Lynn Cadigan filed the claim on behalf of her client, “John Doe” who is now over eighteen. The lawsuit names the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), and the directors and several employees of both agencies. The claim points to the years of abuse and highlights the state’s “failed child protection practices and policies.”1
The state of Arizona, which we’ve discovered has the disgraceful reputation of removing the highest percentage of children in the U.S. from their homes and families through Child Protective Services, has also been exposed as having a very corrupt foster care network that includes pedophile rings where young children are imprisoned in state-approved foster homes and trafficked to pedophiles.
How did this happen?
In 2004, a young “John Doe” went to live with David Frodsham and his wife, both foster parents, in their home in Sierra Vista. He remained in their care for twelve years, until 2016, when Frodsham was arrested by federal agents for being a pedophile and trafficking children. He pled guilty and was sentenced to seventeen years in prison. The claim alleged:
David Frodsham utilized the State of Arizona and the foster care system to funnel innocent, vulnerable children into his home, so he could run a pedophile ring.
Frodsham physically and sexually abused John Doe “countless times” and also acted as the young man’s pimp, prostituting John Doe to other men in exchange for money. The claim said Frodsham often participated in the sexual encounters as well and “helped enable a network of pedophiles in the Sierra Vista area” who repeatedly abused John Doe.1
Frodsham and his wife forced John Doe to live outside and ride his bike to a store to use the bathroom. Frodsham’s wife was aware of the sexual abuse and did nothing. Often medical attention was needed.
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The Arizona Star obtained an internal DCS document where one caseworker mentioned that the Frodshams acknowledged handcuffing John Doe on occasion. There are numerous references to DCS being aware of the abuse. In fact, the report says before Frodsham’s arrest for child abuse, DCS had FULL ACCESS to more than thirty-eight police reports from the Frodsham house over a span of fourteen years, and DCS themselves has at least ten abuse and neglect complaints against the Frodshams between 2002 and 2015. The claim states:
The state should have reviewed these as part of their licensing of the foster/adoptive parent program. John Doe complained to (DCS) over 16 times and nothing was done.
Children in abusive homes rarely can report the abuse, as if they do they are beaten again. This is exactly what happened to John Doe.
DCS should have intervened because John Doe was “completely vulnerable” to the Frodshams and helpless against their abuse, according to the claim.1
The claim also says DCS knew Frodsham was an unsuitable foster and adoptive parent. When Frodsham briefly worked with the Department of Defense in Afghanistan, he was kicked out and relieved from duty due to sexual harassment, and the military mentioned he had a personality disorder. Without a doubt, if John Doe had been the birth child of the Frodshams, the state would have removed him from their care because of the allegations of abuse and neglect. Instead, they left John Doe in the home, and the Frodshams received money from the state every month to abuse him. This is deeply disturbing.
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John Doe’s abuse is nothing short of sex trafficking (did you know a trafficker can make $150,000– 200,000 per child each year and can exploit an average of four to six children per year). Even with constant DCS visits, reports and complaints, he was failed numerous times by the state, and the Frodshams were allowed to continue to abuse and beat their foster children in unthinkable ways. John Doe’s is forever damaged by this abuse.
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Cadigan said that besides the $15 million sought in the claim, John Doe also hopes to send a clear message to the state of Arizona to protect children in its care and change the way DCS operates. Clearly, this needs to happen. Cadigan told the Star:
The Department of Child Safety must be held accountable for the abuse this child has suffered. How could such horrific abuse occur on their watch?
The state entrusted vulnerable children into Frodsham’s care and paid him “substantial taxpayer funds” while he trafficked those foster children into his pedophile ring.
This case is one of the worst cases of neglect and torture I have seen in my 35 years of experience. The suffering this child has endured is unimaginable.1
An Arizona DCS spokesman, Darren DaRonco, declined to comment, saying it is their policy not to comment on pending litigation. It is interesting to note that according to the U.S. State Department, Arizona is a primary destination and transit point for labor and sex trafficking, both nationally and internationally. This is due to its proximity to Mexico, San Diego and Las Vegas, its warm weather, its network of freeways, and the fact that it is a major conference destination, and home to many professional sporting events.
Child sexual abuse is a horrific crime whose victims are those least able to protect themselves or speak out. Their perpetrators are most often repeat offenders. Many pedophiles choose career paths that provide steady contact with children and earn them the trust of other adults. Child sexual abuse is also a significantly under-reported crime that is difficult to prove and prosecute. Sadly, one in five girls and one in twenty boys is a victim of sexual abuse. Every nine minutes, government authorities respond to another report of child sexual abuse, and the age children are most vulnerable is between seven and thirteen.
Most perpetrators of child molestation, incest and child rape are never identified and caught. This needs to change.
