Girl, 7, Recants; D.A. Calls Off Abuse Probe of Foster Father

Three weeks after an administrative law judge ruled that a Whittier man had sexually molested his 7-year-old foster daughter, authorities have decided not to press criminal charges, saying the child has recanted her allegation.

The decision is another twist in the long-running investigation of Steve and Becky Brown, who lost their foster care license July 17 after Administrative Law Judge Ralph B. Dash found that Steve Brown had had sexual intercourse with the girl and that his wife was aware of it.

The Browns declined comment Friday, citing a gag order imposed by a judge in May. However, they have maintained their innocence throughout the criminal investigation and the revocation of their license.

According to Whittier Police Detective William Heckel, the girl changed her statements Friday while he and Linda Chilstrom, a lawyer with the district attorney’s office, interviewed her. Heckel said he is convinced that the child has been molested but it is uncertain by whom. She was reinterviewed to prepare the filing of a criminal case.

Instead of implicating Steve Brown as she had in the past, Heckel said, the child told them she had been molested in a Los Angeles motel while she was visiting her natural mother. Heckel said her statements point to a friend or friends of the mother, but the child provided first names only and there are no suspects.

Asked about the administrative law judge’s finding against the Browns, Heckel said: “I know what he found, but what can I do? How do I prove that with the statements that I have? We asked her about (her testimony during the administrative hearing) and she said she was scared to say anything else. Now whether she’s telling the truth to us, I don’t know.”

However, the child’s lawyer, Linda Pate, said the girl has been consistent in her statements for the last five months. She said it is not uncommon for child sexual abuse victims to recant their stories, particularly if they feel threatened or are in unfamiliar settings.

Pate blamed the district attorney’s office for interviewing the girl alone in an office instead of in a place where she felt comfortable. Pate said that she had suggested the South-Central Los Angeles Regional Center--a private nonprofit agency where the girl initially implicated Steve Brown--but that authorities refused to conduct the interview there.

“This child is severely damaged,” Pate said. “She’s been totally consistent and if the (district attorney) wants to get a good statement from the child they ought to have the decency to interview a child in an environment where she feels secure.”

Pate said she will press forward with a civil lawsuit against the Browns. The suit seeks damages for the alleged sexual abuse.

Whether the Browns will regain their foster care license remains unclear. State officials who handled the case could not be reached for comment.

The investigation began in February, 1989, when the 7-year-old and her three sisters were removed from the Browns’ home after medical examinations indicated that three of them had been sexually molested. Both the Browns and the natural family of the children were suspected, but no one was charged and the Browns continued to operate their foster home.

Steve Brown passed a polygraph test, and Whittier police concluded that the children had been molested in Los Angeles while with their relatives. But Los Angeles police concluded that the girls were molested at the foster home.

A Juvenile Court judge later allowed the Browns unmonitored visits with the youngest girl--a move that angered state officials, who complained that the child, who also showed signs of having been molested, should not have had contact with suspected abusers.