Teen 'kept as slave, starved and beaten' sues adoptive parents and authorities

01 February 2023 , 04:13

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The eight-by-eight feet room where Olivia Atkocaitis was allegedly kept

A Chinese born woman is suing her adoptive parents along with the police and several local bodies after claiming she was kept as a slave, starved and beaten, it is reported.

Olivia Atkocaitis, now 19, is taking legal action in New Boston against New Hampshire police, the child protection system, an adoption agency and the school district for ignoring her case with an allegedly abusive family.

She is reportedly claiming that her parents Thomas and Denise Atkocaitis locked her in an eight feet by eight feet basement of a four bedroom home which she described as a “dungeon”.

Olivia supposedly had to use a bucket for a toilet and was only allowed out to give massages to Denise Atkocaitis and do other jobs around the house.

A 70 page lawsuit stated she only attended school one day a week, unlike the parents’ three biological children, and the lawsuit is alleging racism and sexism on behalf of agencies that dealt with her situation.

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Thomas Atkocaitis is being sued by her adopted child Olivia (New Boston Police Dept.)

Denise Atkocaitis pleaded guilty to criminal restraint in 2018 (New Boston Police Dept.)

"In my view, the state permitted slavery to exist in its jurisdiction, and the state did nothing about this," said Michael Lewis, representing Olivia, reported the New Hampshire Union Leader.

The lawsuit states: “When Olivia attempted to escape, as she did repeatedly as a child, local police hunted her down, reprimanded her for escaping, and returned her to servitude. During her last effort at escape, the police used dogs to track her.”

An example in the lawsuit was given in 2011 when another of Atkocaitis’ children told a school counsellor that Olivia had been whipped, starved and pushed down stairs.

The New Hampshire home where the alleged abuse is said to have happened (WFXT)

Police went to the home and photographed where Olivia was kept but while the teenager was moved away by the Division for Children, Youth and Families, Olivia remained, it is reported.

Then in 2018 when Olivia escaped, Denise Atkocaitis pleaded guilty to criminal restraint but avoided jail, while her husband was given a minimal jail term, according to the lawsuit, after admitting child endangerment.

New Boston police has denied it failed to protect Olivia and also claimed it was instrumental in her rescue, reported the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Lawyer Michael Courtney, representing the police, wrote: "The investigation conducted by Chief (James) Brace, Sergeant (Stephen) Case, and other members of the New Boston Police Department ... ultimately led to the removal of the plaintiff from the home and (from the) conditions her adopted parents subjected her to."

Tim Hanlon