US couple in court in Russian adoption abuse case
US couple in court in Russian adoption abuse case
* Lawyer says final settlement expected
* Case has garnered media attention in Russia
By Keith Coffman
FORT COLLINS, Colo., Sept 7 (Reuters) - Court proceedings
for a Colorado couple accused of abusing three girls adopted
from Russia were postponed on Tuesday after a defense lawyer
told a judge that plea negotiations were under way.
Edelwina Leschinsky, 44, and her husband Steven Leschinsky,
43, were arrested in March after an investigation by child
welfare authorities in which the girls -- aged 12, 13 and 14 --
described being physically abused by their adoptive parents.
"We do anticipate a disposition (final settlement) in this
matter," Edelwina Leschinsky's lawyer Alex Garlin told Larimer
County District Court Judge Terence Gilmore during a brief
hearing.
The couple are charged with child abuse and contributing to
the delinquency of a minor. The girls have been removed from
the home.
The case has drawn media attention in Russia after a woman
in Tennessee put a 7-year-old boy she had adopted from Russia
on a plane back there, saying he had violent tendencies and
psychological problems.
According to a police affidavit, the girls, who were being
interviewed after the 12-year-old came to school with a black
eye, said the Leschinskys forced them to perform hundreds of
push-ups and sit-ups a day and to hold themselves over a board
with nails protruding from it.
The girls also told authorities their adoptive parents
spanked them with belts and pieces of wood and made them slap
each other in the face for punishment.
Prosecutors declined to discuss the case with reporters at
Tuesday's hearing.
"These are good, hard-working people who, with the purest
of intentions, adopted three Russian sisters," Garlin said in a
statement.
"Some extremely difficult adjustments for the children
caused great stress within the family, (and) parental
discipline occurred, but we disagree with various things
written in the police affidavit."
The next hearing in the case has been set for Oct. 7.
(Writing by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Steve Gorman and John
O'Callaghan)