Earl “Butch” Kimmerling and his wife Saundra were foster parents. Craig Peterson was a gay man who wanted to adopt children and was approved to adopt four siblings, three boys and a girl. The girl’s foster parents, the Kimmerlings, were anti-gay and raised a stink. Earl Kimmerling said gay adoption was against God’s will and they would not let her go to an immoral household. They raised enough public pressure the agency let the Kimmerlings adopt her, separating her from her brothers.
And leaving her in the hands of a child rapist. Kimmerling began raping her when she was seven and continued until she told Saundra Kimmerling, who thankfully took her to the police and reported her husband. She kept the child after Kimmerling was sentenced to forty years in prison, but mistreated her. Eventually, she ended up where she belonged in the first place, with Peterson and her brothers.
Kimmerling was paroled and violated his parole, going back to prison in 2019. During an interview he admitted to molesting four additional children.
- LA Times: Case Puts Gay Adoption in a New Light
- WishTV.com The challenges of trauma from child abuse, 20 years later
- Indy Star: Ashley’s foster home seemed perfect. It held a dark secret
This is an extraordinary profile that focuses on the child, not the molester. - Indy Star: Man who crusaded against gay adoption admits to molesting four more children, all but one in foster care
03 Apr 2000