Torry Hansen, Woman Who Returned Russian Adopted Boy Faces Suit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- An American woman who sent her adopted Russian son back to Moscow alone on a plane with a note saying she didn't want him anymore is facing a lawsuit for child support, which is scheduled for trial in March.

Torry Hansen refused to cooperate with investigators after the boy, then 7, reached Russia in April 2010 with a note stating he had psychological problems. She was never charged criminally, but her adoption agency filed a lawsuit in Tennessee, where she was then living, seeking child support.

The suit is scheduled for trial March 27 in a Shelbyville court.

Hansen had no immediate comment. Her mother, Nancy Hansen, told The Associated Press her daughter has refused to answer questions sought by attorneys, but a judge will determine whether to compel answers.

Comments

[yurday6]

10:44 PM on 02/21/2012

This article did not mention why she did this. I remember to story at the time. This child was like damian, the devils son. I would have done the same thing.

[sailorleo33]

08:05 PM on 02/21/2012

If you don't want to run the risk of a "screwed up" kid, then adopt one in the US that is over the age of 10. There's a good deal of them out there, in foster care, who need proper families and the stability of such an environment. Sometimes people adopt small children out of the country because it's easier, and they're still young children (cute factor), but with that comes an obvious risk of mental problems and problems with physical health that can't be discerned at such a young age. She should have realized it was a possibility before adopting. I find the idea of 'returning' an adopted child absolutely apalling, and hopefully in court the woman will say what measures she took before coming to such a drastic conclusion.

[Tomfreeusa]

02:19 PM on 02/21/2012

There is a good deal of fraud in Russian adoptions. Most of the children have reactive attachment disorder and many other psychiatric issues. Some of the kids were born with fetal alcohol syndrome. Sometimes the kids respond to therapy and treatment, but in many cases these children have such severe problems that it is beyond the ability of most parents to deal with. Most parents simply dont have the financial means to pay for the kind of intense treatment needed. Sadly there is also a great deal of deception by domestic adoption agencies as to the level of mental illness many children have. Much of the deception comes in the form of omission and downplaying psychiatric disorders.

I cant see how Torry Hansen can be compelled to answer questions in court. I thought we had a Fifth Amendment. She should demand a jury trial since she faces the possibility of financial loss and that is also guaranteed by the Constitution. This lawsuit by the adoption agency should be dismissed since the child is not in the United States. The child is under the jurisdiction of the Russian government, therefore this lawsuit is null and void.

[mombunk]

01:36 PM on 02/21/2012

I have two friends who both adopted Russian children when they were about 2 years old. By the age of 4 they both saw the children had real anger issues and couldn't connect to people etc. The older they got the more troubles they had with school etc. BUT....they didn't return them...they got them into therapy etc.. and the kids are doing well now...

You never know what happened to children in their early years in a foreign orphanage and many of them have emotional problems...if you can't deal with that ... don't adopt them. Babies need love and nurture to grow emotionally...many of them don't get that due to lack of staff and tons of babies.

This story makes me sick. This woman should have to do more than just pay child support. What about child endangerment? That poor little boy.

[Armywife36]

03:44 PM on 01/26/2012

You are a horrible person. Children are children no matter who they come from and they deserve to be loved. You should not be aloud to adopt with you judgmental opinion of a child ( You might me a Mommy Dearest)

[Diane Dodson]

11:48 AM on 01/25/2012

My heart goes out to the little boy who will now never get the help he needs. And the woman who adopted him must have gone competely over the edge to have just placed him on a plane like that. She must need some psycological help herself now. This whole story just reeks of human error. The children in the orphanages that don't get the comfort and touch they so need to develope. The adoptive parents who so desparately want a child they can't see the emotional lacking that comes with most of these children and both countries who let child and parent down by not offering enough support. Very sad indeed

[Liz Preza]

02:16 AM on 01/25/2012

i'm so confused by people defending this woman... special needs or no special needs, the fact of the matter is that this child is a living, breathing, FEELING kid who already is facing the trauma of not having a stable or loving home. i understand that 1) adoption is difficult and 2) raising children with special needs is difficult, but i'm pretty sure that claims like "It's bad enough when you have biological problem children, imagine an adopted" falls apart when you consider that you are agreeing to raise and care for a child as your own when you sign those adoption papers. get out of here with sympathy for this woman simply abandoning a seven year old when times got tough - neglect and child abuse at best.

[OhHeyJere]

02:16 AM on 01/25/2012

Poor kid...

[Scott Stevenson]

02:02 AM on 01/25/2012

I hope that this woman never gets an opportunity to hurt a child again. What a cruel vile person.

[Nina Wolfson]

01:51 AM on 01/25/2012

Unfathomably despicable of that woman. Why isn't she in jail for child endangerment?

[Tracy R Gibson]

11:07 PM on 01/24/2012

W. T. F.?

[bebeiner]

09:25 PM on 01/24/2012

This whole story from beginning to end is very sad and the blame should not be put on the child, meaning he has mental issues etc ..., but to the adults who had anything to do with this adoption in the first place. They are the ones to blame and to put a child on a plane with a note, is totally bizarre and Torry Hansen should be punished by law. Forget making her pay for child support. That's too easy! Enough said!

[genealogylover]

09:00 PM on 01/24/2012

I would Never adopt an older child. Anything over 6 months is too old because you do not know the trauma they have been through. I have friends who adopted a 4 YO from South America and within a few months they couldn't handle him and had to send him to another adopting family. At least it got the kid Out of the terror he had lived in in South America and they were able to find another family here willing to take him on. He was a monster and they were scared for their other child.

[oceanview136]

08:43 PM on 01/24/2012

If this woman had given birth to this child, would she have just dropped him off somewhere to get rid of him, or would she have tried to get him the help that the child needs ??

[thecluephone]

08:36 PM on 01/24/2012

I'm sure that reality hit hard for this woman. You really do hit your wit's end. I had paint scraped off doors and walls, ejaculate wiped on bathroom hand towels, spit in the face, pictures thrown across rooms, the flat screen TV pushed over, money stolen, credit cards used, and on and on. I might fantasize about putting my son on a plane to anywhere, but I have to admit I couldn't do it. On the other hand I've heard several stories of foster-to-adopt parents just dropping the child back at the foster agency, pre- and post-adoption. A personal update: my 14-year-old son is the light of my life and I would move heaven and earth for him if I could.