By Howard Koplowitz
A former Laurelton resident convicted of abusing and mistreating her 11 adopted children was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison Friday, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan said Tuesday.
Judith Leekin, 65, of Port St. Lucie, Fla., was found guilty of adopting 11 disabled children to obtain New York state subsidies to care for them, then neglecting the children and spoiling herself with the money, said Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District.
“For almost 20 years, Judith Leekin manipulated a system intended to protect the welfare of New York City's neediest children,” Garcia said in a statement. “She will begin paying for the years that she spent caring more about the $1.68 million she stole than she did for the children she was entrusted to protect.”
The subsidies were an enticement for Leekin to adopt additional disabled children, he said.
Leekin was sentenced to 130 months in prison, or 10 years and 10 months, before U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman, Garcia said.
As part of her sentencing, Leekin was ordered to forfeit the $1.68 million in state subsidies given to her for the children along with her Florida homes in Port St. Lucie and Sanford, Garcia said.
Leekin adopted 11 disabled children between 1988 and 1996, Garcia said.
