http://www.t-g.com/story/1460864.html
Foster mom to face hearing on *** charges
Friday, September 12, 2008
By Brian Mosely
A foster mother accused of having *** with the boy in her care will
appear in court later this month -- either to make a plea, or be to
bound over to the next session of the Bedford County grand jury.
Jennifer Renee McWhirter, 33, of Mountain View Road, Bell Buckle, is
scheduled to appear on Friday, Sept. 26 at 8 a.m., according to court
officials.
She was charged in June with three counts of statutory rape by an
authority figure and one count of criminal responsibility for
facilitation of a felony. McWhirter is currently free on $11,000 bond.
McWhirter held the position of foster care coordinator at the Center
for Family Development and was placed on administrative leave pending
the outcome of the case.
Detective Lt. Becky Hord of the Bedford County Sheriff's Department
said in June she had received information that McWhirter, the boy's
foster parent, had ***ual relations with him.
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The alleged relation****p between McWhirter and the boy came to light
after another foster mother was charged with eight counts of statutory
rape by an authority figure earlier this year.
Alea Rhea Rippy pleaded guilty in June to amended charges -- three
counts of statutory rape -- and agreed to serve six months in jail,
followed by three years of community corrections. Rippy also had
***ual relations with the minor in McWhirter's care.
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Hord said in June that the youth, McWhirter and Rippy "were all three
good friends instead of foster care, foster parents." Other evidence
was provided to Hord that indicated that "there was more than a foster
mother/child relation****p," she said.
Interviews of the juvenile indicated that McWhirter allegedly had ***
with the boy three times last October and that the boy, Rippy and
McWhirter drank alcoholic beverages together, Hord said.
Hord also said that preparations had allegedly been made to hide the
boy in Florida because DCS had decided to send him back to Mexico.
There was an issue with the Mexican consulate, Hord said, so the boy
never went back.
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