Sentenced: Former Foster Mom Dodges Prison Time, Receives Probation For Child Abuse Convictions

[Sugar Cookie]

A former foster mother from Oroville has been sentenced to four years probation for multiple convictions of physical and emotional abuse of six children she had fostered since infancy and adopted.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey says 51-year-old Candace Lee Johnson was sentenced to a four-year term of probation with a six-month jail term as a condition. He says his office objected to the probation sentence and instead asked the judge to sentence Johnson to the maximum sentence of seven years in state prison.

However, the judge reportedly stated he was giving Johnson an opportunity on probation because she had no prior criminal history. Ramsey says the judge also granted probation because she had begun taking in children decades ago with good intentions to try and care for children who needed homes, and it appeared that after Johnson had gone through multiple battles with cancer, she no longer had the ability or temperament to care for the children in her home. The judge also reportedly considered nearly 30 letters in support of Johnson from various people in the community who described her as "loving and giving; a person who volunteers tirelessly to fight homelessness; supporting Veterans' affairs, and helping children and mothers who are in need."

Additionally, Ramsey says the Butte County Probation Department also recommended that Johnson be given a chance at probation based on the aforementioned factors.

Ramsey's office, however, urged for Johnson to be sent to prison, arguing that the abuse was not isolated; she took virtually no accountability for the crimes she committed; she denied nearly every act she was accused of doing, even the acts caught on video; and instead tried to place blame on the children themselves. The investigation into the abuse began in August 2021, when a video surfaced showing Johnson physically abusing one of the children in her home. Ramsey says the video was secretly recorded by one of the children in the home. The Butte County Sheriff's Office conducted interviews with the children in Johnson's house, plus 13 previously fostered children, who were now adults. Ramsey says all of them reported being victims or witnesses of serious physical and emotional abuse committed by Johnson.

According to Ramsey, numerous witnesses, including Johnson's biological adult children, family members and school staff, all reported incidents of Johnson's "volatile and sometimes abusive nature." He says several of the children's statements suggested that Johnson was most violent and demeaning toward her adopted children of color and her children with disabilities in her home, using derogatory and racist slurs while abusing them.

According to Ramsey, Johnson's probation terms prohibit her from being around anyone under the age of 18 unless she is in the immediate presence of a responsible adult, approved in advance by the probation department. She is also to have no contact, whatsoever, with any of the children she abuses, and she will not be able to foster children in the future because of the convictions in this case.

Former foster mother from Oroville dodges prison time, receives probation for child abuse convictions

An former foster mother from Oroville has been sentenced to a four-year probation for multiple convictions of phsycial and emotional abuse of six children she h

krcrtv.com

 

[Alxprkrkrls]

Her own kids testified against her and still no jail sentence? What a fucking injustice

 

[Busy Bee]

All of the fostered/ adopted/ bio children school teachers give reports of violent behavior and assault ! Then she has thirty letters of recommendation? Violent behavior to the children is very serious, her lack of an apology to the children means she’s not sorry! I’m not swayed by her community service.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

This woman will end up elderly, alone and abandoned by her children.

People will often look at the adult children as selfish and uncaring but cases like this demonstrate why some elderly people die alone in nursing homes.