Hearing Rescheduled for White Prosecutor (PA) and wife Charged with Horrific Abuse of Adopted Black Children from Ethiopia

From [HERE] A white Pennsylvania Deputy Attorney General and his wife were scheduled to appear Tuesday in Leetsdale District Court, but the preliminary hearing for the Franklin Park couple has been postponed to Oct. 23.

Allegheny County and Franklin Park police charged Douglas Barbour, 33, and his wife, Kristen Barbour, 30, of Cole Road, last week with two counts each of endangering the welfare of children and one count each of aggravated assault. Douglas Barbour is also charged with simple assault, court documents show.  They were arrested last week after their two adopted Black children from Ethiopia were found starved and beaten to near death according to police.  Barbour has been suspended from his state job without pay, Attorney General Linda Kelly said in a statement.

The couple is accused of abusing an 18-month old girl and 6-year-old boy they adopted from Ethiopia in March, according to a criminal complaint filed by county police. The girl was found with five bone fractures from separate incidents and is feared going permanently blind from her injuries, KDKA reports. She may have suffered a stroke from the bone fractures.

The couple also attempted to starve the boy to death - as he had not eaten for a long period of time, according to CBS.

Both children, whose names were not released, went to Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh on Sept. 14 after the boy was taken to an urgent care center for hypothermia, rapid breathing and skin lesions, which a doctor later determined were caused by lengthy exposure to urine, court documents say. The boy was admitted to the hospital. 

The girl was having difficulty breathing and her eyes were rolling back in her head; Dr. Rachel Berger found the toddler had multiple head fractures in various stages of healing, the documents say.

Kristen Barbour allegedly told doctors the toddler often banged her head accidentally, but Berger said the child's injuries were consistent with abuse. [MORE] 

An investigation began Sept. 29 after the children were treated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, authorities said.

The couple posted 10 percent of $25,000 percentage bonds after their arraignments Friday morning and have retained a private attorney.