December 2005

12/2/05 Prime-Time Live: Masha's story. The tragic story of a five year old girl adopted from Russia and abused by an American pedophile deserved to be told. However, what ABC news did not focus on was that "father", John Mancuso, apparently did not have a criminal record prior to his arrest in connection with this case. If neither the FBI nor local authorities was aware of his existence, it would be very hard for any social worker to find out the evil truth which this man had spent decades covering up. Indeed, as the show revealed, Mancuso's ex-wife did not know he was a pedophile even though he had molested her own daughter. The show also focused on the lack of post-placement visits. In fact such post-placement visits are now required in connection with all Russian and Chinese adoptions.