Hutchins Sex-Abuse Inquiry Begins
Police take items from girl's home
By Connie Piloto
Originally published by The Dallas Morning News, June 16, 2001
Police executed a search warrant Friday at the mobile home where investigators say an 8-year-old girl had been kept in a small closet for at least four months.
The search warrant was obtained shortly after police learned that someone in the home may have been sexually abused.
Among the items authorities removed from the home Friday night were a child's mattress, a laundry basket filled with bed linen and a door.
The nearly three-hour search was done by two members of the Dallas County Sheriff's Department and representatives from the district attorney's office and the Dallas and Hutchins police departments. Officials would not comment on the items removed from the home. That information is expected to be released Monday.
Lauren Calhoun weighed 25 pounds and was 3 feet tall when she was found Monday night. She was locked in a cramped closet for at least four months and starved, police said.
The child remained at Children's Medical Center on Friday in serious but stable condition. She has undergone surgery, but officials have not disclosed its nature. She is being treated for malnutrition and is expected to remain in the hospital for several weeks.
Her mother, Barbara Calhoun Atkinson, 30, and her stepfather, Kenneth Ray Atkinson, 33, were arrested and charged with injury to a child. Mr. and Ms. Atkinson are divorced but were living together in Hutchins.
Ms. Atkinson is being held at the Lew Sterrett Justice Center in lieu of $100,000 bail. Mr. Atkinson is being held without bail on a probation violation for theft by check from Ellis County. If convicted, they could serve life in prison.
The Atkinsons have refused interview requests.
They are being isolated from the general jail population because of the nature of the charges in the high-profile case, said Don Peritz, a sheriff's spokesman.
Hutchins Police Chief Gregory Griffin said his investigators are working with the Dallas County district attorney's office, and the Dallas County Sheriff's Department is conducting the forensic investigation.
Chief Griffin visited Lauren at the hospital several times this week and said she's upbeat and happy.
"She's a bubble of joy," Chief Griffin said. "Even when we found her that night, she was very open and positive. Her spirit is strong."
The girl's siblings—ages 22 months to 11 years—were placed in foster care.
"There were no signs of physical abuse, but they are going to be traumatized," said Stacy Ladd, a Child Protective Services spokeswoman.
A court hearing to determine temporary custody for Lauren and her five siblings is scheduled for June 26 before District Judge Cheryl Shannon.
