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Date:         Fri, 3 Mar 2000 10:51:39 -0500
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From:         Howard Gorrell <[log in to unmask]>
Subject:      Dropped Charges against Kelsos.
To:           [log in to unmask]

Thought you might be interested to read the below:

Howard L. Gorrell
[log in to unmask]

==============================================

>From http://www.delawareonline.com/news/2000/mar/story103032000.html

State strikes a deal with Kelsos

Couple will get probation for abandoning disabled son

News Journal file/BOB HERBERT

Richard and Dawn Kelso eventually may be allowed to take their son home
under supervision.

By MARY ALLEN
Staff reporter
03/03/2000

Delaware on Thursday dropped charges that had been brought against a couple
who abandoned their 10-year-old son in a case that drew national attention
to the needs of parents with medically dependent children.

Richard and Dawn Kelso agreed to one year of probation under the deal, one
that eventually could allow them to regain custody of their only child.

The Exton, Pa., couple admitted in court papers that they had committed
misdemeanor child abandonment, although they did not plead guilty, said Todd
Hallidy, spokesman for the Delaware Attorney General's Office.

The agreement with prosecutors was struck five days before the Kelsos were
to be tried in Family Court on child abandonment and conspiracy counts.

They took their son into the Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children in
Rockland the day after Christmas and left him in his wheelchair with a
bundle of toys, medical supplies and a note saying they could no longer care
for him.

The couple later said they had been left without medical care over the
holidays and were exhausted by the constant medical needs of the child, who
has cerebral palsy.

Richard Kelso, 62, is chief executive officer of PQ Corp., a privately held
chemical company that posts $500 million in sales. Dawn Kelso, 46, has been
an advocate for families with medically dependent children. She testified in
1994 before the National Council on Disabilities, an independent federal
agency that recommends policy to the president and Congress.

The Kelsos could not be reached Thursday, but they issued a statement
calling the abandonment an unfortunate situation.

"We have agreed to... probation in order to provide closure for our family,
but most importantly because this is in [our son's] best interest," they
said.

Hallidy said the agreement was not unusual for first-time offenders charged
with misdemeanor crimes. It was a fair outcome to a difficult, emotional
case, he said.

Prosecutors can bring back the charges if the Kelsos violate the terms of
their probation or commit new crimes.

The Attorney General's Office will supervise their probation. The Kelsos
must comply with conditions set by the Chester County, Pa., Department of
Children Youth & Families, according to court papers.

That agency has custody of their son, even though he was still a patient
Thursday night at the Children's Hospital.

Dawn Kelso's uncle, Glover Crouch, said Thursday his niece is anxious to
have her son home.

"She's feeling much better in many respects," he said. "There seems to be a
strong chance they'll bring (the boy) home, with certain provisions that it
will be a trial period of three months and there would be monitoring and
inspections."

Hallidy said the Kelsos' court agreement assumes the family will reunite and
be monitored by agents from the Attorney General's Office.

The Kelsos have traveled regularly to Delaware since January for hospital
visits with their son.

Officials in Chester County would not comment directly on the Kelsos' case.

But Deputy Director Carla London said department regulations generally
encourage parents to be reunited with their children, even when criminal
charges have been filed.

In cases of serious abuse, or when parents say they do not want their
children back, the department would try to withhold custody.

When parents feel they cannot continue caring for a child because of intense
stress, the department can take temporary custody for a weekend, London
said.

The Kelsos said in their statement that a shortage of nurses left them
without medical care for their son.

"... [W]e felt that the only option we had was to take (our son) to the ...
hospital, a place where he was well cared for and received the
round-the-clock skilled medical attention which he requires," the parents
said.

The Kelsos' arrests drew national attention, with some parents of disabled
children coming to their defense.

"They put him in a place that was safe," said Beth MacDonald, Delaware
coordinator for Family Voices, an advocacy group for children with special
health care needs. "They didn't abandon him on a street corner."

The agreement made Thursday was unexpected. The Delaware deputy attorney
general assigned to the case still had been planning Thursday afternoon for
the Kelsos' scheduled criminal trial next week.

Another prosecutor had prepared the documents that dropped the charges. The
paperwork was filed in Family Court in the afternoon, without an appearance
by the Kelsos.

State Attorney General M. Jane Brady was on vacation and could not be
reached for comment.

After his arrest, Richard Kelso took a three-month leave of absence from his
post at the PQ Corp. His leave expires in early April.

"We've always considered this a private matter of the Kelso family," PQ
spokesman Bob Gladwish said Thursday. "It doesn't really involve the
company."