Exclusive: Placement Agency Not Cooperating In Exchange Student Sex Case
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Another twist in a bizarre case of alleged child sex abuse, suicide and attempted suicide in Cutler Bay. CBS4 News has learned that the agency who approved the Cutler Bay home as a shelter for foreign exchange students, according to law enforcement sources, is not cooperating with investigators. Newly-revealed court documents also appear to support police suspicions that multiple exchange students may have been victimized at the home.
At the house on SW 185th Terrace Tuesday, 50-year-old Dale Leary killed himself – carbon monoxide from a hose in the tailpipe of a car out back. Also in the car was Leary's ex-wife, Claudia, who survived and is recovering fully. Young Marta San Jose, Leary's current wife, remains jailed.
San Jose and her husband were charged with taping pornographic acts and inflicting unspeakable sex abuse on her then 14-year-old sister, brought from Spain in 2014.
San Jose was a foreign exchange student the Learys took in at 16. At 18, she and Leary married to keep her from being sent back home.
Claudia Leary, who her husband divorced, continued to live in the house with her ex and new young wife. Public records show no new address for her since the divorce some three years ago. She is also still listed as co-owner of the home.
Police are investigating what role Claudia played, if any, in the abuse.
From the beginning, detectives have suspected there are more victims.
Court records obtained by CBS4 show police seized 11 foreign exchange student documents from the Leary home, along with high-tech cameras, laptops, computers and hard drives. It is not clear how many exchange students the Leary family hosted, but neighbors have said several children have stayed in the home over the years.
Leary was a foreign student host, despite having 1980's convictions for sexual battery, lewd and lascivious assault and kidnapping.
The U.S. State Department licenses agencies that place foreign students, and requires the agencies to vet prospective host families.
CBS4 News has learned that Chicago-based CCI Greenheart is the agency that approved the Learys as hosts.
In a statement, the company told CBS4 it applies to "each of our host families a rigorous screening standard."
CCI Greenheart wouldn't talk specifics of how its standards let Dale Leary slip through. A spokesperson, Vice President Megan Mcgaughey, said the company would "conduct a thorough assessment… of this matter to ensure we are doing all we can to best keep our students safe."
Law Enforcement and prosecution sources tell CBS4 that CCI Greenheart is not being helpful in helping them look for others who may have been unsafe in the Leary home.
"They are not cooperating," one source said. "They have not responded to our questions."
CCI Greenheart's Mcgaughey said Friday afternoon that the company has received no "formal" request from authorities in Florida and when it does will cooperate fully.
Here is the full statement from CCI Greenheart's spokesperson:
"CCI is committed to providing a safe, positive environment for each and every one of our exchange students. We apply to each of our potential host families a rigorous screening standard including independent third-party background checks and in-person, in-home visits from trained CCI local coordinator. Because this is a legal matter, it would be inappropriate to provide details on the circumstances of this situation. We are, however, taking this matter very, very seriously. We will conduct a thorough assessment both of this matter and of our screening procedures to ensure we are doing all we can to best keep our students safe." – Megan Mcgaughey, CCI Greenheart