Felony Child Abuse Foster Home, Threats to Kill + Bury Children - California

Orcutt Foster Parent Faces Child Abuse Charges, Bertha Savoy + Nephew Duane James. Aug 12, 2010, Calif. A foster parent from Orcutt is facing several felony charges after several children in her care were severely mistreated. On Tuesday, June 29th the Santa Barbara County Welfare Services removed four children from a foster home after receiving allegations of abuse.
A joint investigation by CWS and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department revealed some very disturbing facts. According to the Sheriff's Department, 71 year old Bertha Mae Savoy had been abusing foster children over the past four years. The abuse includes beating them with plastic hangers, withholding food and making them sleep outside on a concrete slab.
According to the children, sometimes Savoy would have her nephew, 38 year old Duane Patrick James, come over to the home to enforce punishments by physically abusing them. The victims range in age from 10-16 years old.
After authorities determined that the abuse allegations against Savoy and James were valid they obtained search warrants for both of their residences, which are next door to each other.
While they were serving the search warrant, four additional children were taken into custody. They were not in the foster care system, and investigation revealed two of the four were also victims of abuse.
During the last six weeks, Sheriff's detectives expanded their investigation by identifying and interviewing other juveniles who had been in foster care under Bertha Savoy within the last three years. Four juveniles (ages 12-16), who were former residents in Savoy's foster home, were able to corroborate the statements made by the first four victims.
The investigation also revealed that three of the former residents were also the victims of child abuse. At this time, the Sheriff's Office has identified nine victims of child abuse; seven who lived with Savoy and two who lived with James next door.
Santa Barbara County Child Welfare Services has placed all the children in protective custody.
Bertha Savoy and Duane James were both booked into he Santa Barbara County Jail on Wednesday June 30th. Both Savoy and James are facing six felony child abuse charges and have since been released from custody after posting bail. http://www.kcoy.com/Global/story.asp?S=12965434

Aug 12, 2010, Santa Barbara, Calif. AP. An elderly California foster parent and her adult nephew have been charged with beating nine children with plastic hangers, withholding food and forcing them to sleep on concrete in the backyard of their rural Santa Barbara County home. Sheriff's investigators had initially reported in June that four foster children were abused by 71-year-old Bertha Mae Savoy and 38-year-old Duane Patrick James in their Orcutt home. Another five victims have now been identified in the continuing investigation.
Savoy has been charged with six felony child abuse counts and two misdemeanors for allegedly dissuading a witness. James has been charged with seven child abuse counts, six of them felonies. The foster children told investigators that James threatened to kill them and bury them in the backyard if they misbehaved. http://www.sandiego6.com/news/state/story/Foster-parent-charged-with-felony-c...

August 12, 2010, Santa Barbara, Calif. AP. An elderly California foster parent and her adult nephew have been charged with beating nine children with plastic hangers, withholding food and forcing them to sleep on concrete in the backyard of their rural Santa Barbara County home. Sheriff's investigators had initially reported in June that four foster children were abused by 71-year-old Bertha Mae Savoy and 38-year-old Duane Patrick James in their Orcutt home. Another five victims have now been identified in the continuing investigation.
Savoy has been charged with six felony child abuse counts and two misdemeanors for allegedly dissuading a witness. James has been charged with seven child abuse counts, six of them felonies. The foster children told investigators that James threatened to kill them and bury them in the backyard if they misbehaved. http://www.sandiego6.com/news/state/story/Foster-parent-charged-with-felony-c...

8/12/2010. . . Detectives are seeking any additional information on Savoy or James and those who might help are asked to contact the Santa Maria Sheriff's Station at (805) 934-6170 or the anonymous tip line at (805) 681-4171. Drew Sugars, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, called the jump in the number of victims as the investigation progressed, from four to nine, "significant." He noted that detectives are not considering the case closed, and encouraged any other victims or anyone who witnessed any abuse to come forward. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38671661/ns/local_news-santa_maria_ca/