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Opening statements began Thursday in the Nevada trial of Janet Solander. She faces 46 counts of various forms of child abuse, including sexual abuse, with relation to her three adopted children. Ironically, Solander had written and book about child adoption before she was arrested. The title: “Foster Care: How to Fix This Corrupted System.” Solander’s husband and daughter were also charged in the case. The children told authorities about the abuse after they were sent to a boarding school in Florida.
Judge Valerie Adair will preside over the trial in the Eighth Judicial District Court of Nevada. The prosecution is led Jacqueline Bluth, who previously won a conviction in the War Machine trial. Solander is represented by attorneys Dayvid Figler, and Caitlyn McAmis.
The list of charges run long, and is disturbing. Under count 8, Solander and husband Dwight Solander allegedly sexually assaulted a young girl known in court documents as A.S., who is now 16. They used a “catheter and/or plastic tube,” prosecutors said. The couple committed sexual assault together many times, though Janet Solander sometimes acted alone. Under count 37, she used a stick to sexually abuse a 13-year-old also known as A.S. Under count 21, Solander forced a 15-year-old also known as A.S. to “take cold showers while pouring pitchers of ice water on A.S.” according to the list of allegations.
Prosecutors said the trio of girls faced the gamut of abuse including being threatened with a razor blade attack, forced to sleep on boards or towels with no blankets and sheets, being withheld food and water, and getting pushed down stairs.
Janet Solander’s biological daughter Danielle Hinton was also indicted on three counts of child abuse, neglect, or endangerment with substantial bodily harm.
Aaron Keller contributed to this article.
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