An Iowa mother is fighting to win back custody of her 16-year-old son with special needs after the couple who adopted him were accused of zip tying and starving him.
Shelly Green has not seen her biological son since 2012 when she lost custody of him because of her alcohol abuse and poor living conditions. At age 7, he was placed into foster care at Jennifer and Richard Ryan’s home, and the couple later adopted him.
“I haven’t seen my son in over 10 years, and come to find out, he’s been abused the whole time,” Green said. “I felt sick to my stomach ever since I heard the news.”
Green says she’s now 10 years sober and desperate to get her son back. She has lived just blocks from him this whole time but says she wasn’t allowed to see him, even though the Ryans originally promised she could maintain a relationship with him.
“Four blocks away because I always told him I’d be close. If I would have ever known something like this was happening to him, I would’ve done something a lot sooner,” she said.
The boy’s two sisters were adopted back in 2012 by their paternal grandmother, Julie Reben. Reben says she tried to adopt the boy himself at the time but wasn’t allowed because she wasn’t his biological grandmother.
“They should go to prison forever. You take an oath. I was a foster parent for 10 years. I never would have dreamed of hurting a child,” Reben said.
Reben says she and Green have contacted the Iowa Department of Human Services to try to start the process of adopting the 16-year-old. The tight-knit family says they have overcome a lot.
“I know he is going to be traumatized, and I know the pain isn’t going to go away on its own. But with our love, I know this will work,” Green said.
“We’re strong, and we have a lot of faith. I believe that God’s gonna let us get him back. I really believe that,” Reben said.
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