LaPorte, Ind. — A foster mother is calling for an “independent criminal investigation” into the Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) employees who handled her foster son’s case.
Judah Morgan, 4, was brutally beaten, tortured and murdered on October 11, 2021 by his biological father Alan Morgan at the family home in LaPorte County.
Judah’s foster mother, Jenna Hullett, filed a federal lawsuit against three DCS employees alleging they performed “sham investigations” and their actions caused the death of her foster son, Judah Morgan.
Hullett has also filed a lawsuit in Hendricks County against Judah’s birth father Alan Morgan. DCS has also been added as a party to the case.
Both lawsuits are still pending.
In an email to DCS attorneys on May 7, Hullett’s attorney Charlie Rice said he wants police to criminally investigate the DCS employees who handled Judah’s case.
“My client is publicly requesting that the Director of DCS open an independent criminal investigation into the handling of Judah's case,” said Rice in an email to DCS attorneys. “Given the inherently conflicted position of DCS, my client also requests that this investigation be directed by the office of the Indiana Inspector General and conducted by the Indiana State Police.”
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WRTV Investigates reached out to Indiana State Police, but a spokesperson was unaware of any request made of their agency.
“If the Director of DCS declines to commission an independent investigation directed by the Indiana Inspector General, I would request that DCS permit my office to provide documents produced by DCS and designated as ‘confidential’ in the state case to the LaPorte County Sheriff's Office so that they can take the lead in conducting an appropriate investigation,” said Rice in his email to DCS.
Rice also said DCS has “made no effort to conduct an internal or independent investigation” of the allegations Hullett outlined in her lawsuits.
He said he’s concerned about other children in the child welfare system.
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“Irrespective of the outcome of the civil cases involving Judah Morgan, if DCS continues to condone the individual and collective wrongdoing which led to Judah's death, more children will suffer and die,” said Rice in an email to WRTV. “The recent deaths of other children in the DCS system highlights the need for DCS to immediately reform, hold individuals accountable, and show more interest in protecting children than protecting itself.”
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Hullett’s federal lawsuit alleges the DCS employees showed a “reckless and deliberate indifference and intentional disregard of their duties,” which failed Judah Morgan and caused his torture and death.
“No internal investigator from DCS or investigator from the Indiana State Police has contacted myself or my client regarding these allegations,” said Rice in an email to DCS attorneys. “Rather, it appears the only action DCS has taken in the last six months regarding the death of Judah Morgan has involved protecting itself by seeking absolute immunity for civil damages caused by Judah's death.”
On May 9, a DCS spokesperson sent WRTV Investigates a statement which DCS’ attorneys at Lewis & Wilkins provided to Hullett's attorney Charlie Rice:
Our law firm has reviewed the thousands of pages of documents connected to this matter and spoken to the dedicated DCS employees directly involved. DCS and outside counsel continue to arrive at the conclusion that DCS employees acted reasonably over the course of their involvement in this matter. We have made this position clear in the civil lawsuits that you have filed seeking money damages.
In April 2021, a Court ordered Judah’s return to his parents. Tragically, Judah was killed by his parents months later. Criminal prosecutors delivered justice for Judah when both parents were sentenced to decades in prison for crimes related to his death.
As you should be aware, DCS is not a law enforcement agency and does not have the statutory authority to open an independent criminal investigation. In accordance with standard practice, DCS provided the appropriate law enforcement agencies with information relevant to this case, which contributed to the conviction and imprisonment of Judah’s parents for their terrible crimes.
DCS remains bound by confidentiality under Indiana law and cannot respond to the misrepresentations that have been portrayed to the media or otherwise comment about this ongoing litigation. We will speak about the case through our pleadings filed in court.
DCS has filed a motion on February 15 to be dismissed from Hullett’s lawsuit.
The Hendricks County court heard arguments on May 1, but the judge did not make a decision and took the matter under advisement.
In the federal case, DCS filed a motion on April 10 asking for the case against Dreessen, Stowers and Goebel to be dismissed including that they are “entitled to qualified immunity because DCS Defendants did not violate any clearly established constitutional rights.”
Judah’s mother, Mary Yoder, was also convicted of Neglect of a Dependent resulting in death.
Judah’s foster mother, Jenna Hullett, named the following DCS employees in the lawsuit filed on October 9, 2023 in the U.S. District Court Northern District of Indiana:
- Jean Dreessen, Family Case Manager
- Michele Stowers, Family Case Manager Supervisor
- Michelle Goebel, Director of LaPorte County DCS
Goebel supervised Dreessen and Stowers. Stowers supervised Dreessen, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges the DCS employees showed a “reckless and deliberate indifference and intentional disregard of their duties,” which failed Judah Morgan and caused his torture and death.
“Goebel and Stowers were aware of Dreessen’s misconduct and facilitated, approved, condoned, and otherwise turned a blind eye to Dreessen’s misconduct,” read the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses the DCS employees of, “performing sham investigations, downplaying claims and concerns by relatives of abuse and neglect or declaring them unfounded,” and not performing Court ordered drug tests for Judah’s parents.
When Judah was born in 2017, he had drugs in his system and his birth mother tested positive for drugs, according to the lawsuit.
In 2017, Judah’s birth parents had substantiated allegations of neglect and abuse with regard to Judah’s older brother.
DCS took Judah into custody at the hospital, and he became a ward of DCS.
When he was four months old, Judah Morgan was placed with his foster mother Jenna Hullett.
Six months before his murder, in April 2021, Judah was placed for the first time with his birth parents.
The three DCS employees knew Judah was at risk of physical abuse or serious neglect, the lawsuit alleges.
“In addition to Alan Morgan’s domestic violence history, DCS knew that Alan Morgan was ‘a hot head’ with substantiated abuse and neglect and a chronic drug user, but never sought a psychological assessment of Alan Morgan prior to closing the CHINS (Child In Need of Services) case,” read the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the three DCS employees failed to drug test either birth parent for the last five months prior to closing the case – in violation of DCS policy and a court order.
The three DCS employees are also accused of providing Judah’s Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with false and/or misleading information to force a close to Judah’s case.
At the time the federal lawsuit was filed, WRTV Investigates reached out to the employees and DCS for a comment.
“DCS cannot comment on pending litigation,” an agency spokesperson said in an email to WRTV.
According to state online records, Dreessen, Stowers and Goebel are still working for DCS.
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