A judge in Cochise County has set a July 6, 2021 trial date in a young man’s lawsuit against the State of Arizona and two non-profits involved in his foster care and subsequent adoption into a Sierra Vista home where he was subjected to repeated sexual abuse.
David Frodsham and his wife Barbara became the boy’s foster parents shortly after he was removed from his biological family in 2004. They were approved in 2011 to become his adoptive parents. Barbara was never prosecuted in connection to the sexual abuse.
The boy’s lawsuit filed in September 2018 alleges workers for the State of Arizona, Catholic Communities Services of Southern Arizona, and Arizona Partnership for Children ignored multiple “red flags” in his placement in the Frodsham home.
The young man is seeking monetary damages for emotional and physical injuries suffered in connection to his foster care placement and adoption. He is also seeking changes in how state officials handle allegations of abuse in foster homes.
As part of trial preparation, attorneys representing the State of Arizona scheduled videotaped depositions earlier this month with Barbara Frodsham and a Sierra Vista police detective.
A deposition is part of the pretrial discovery process. It is conducted outside a courtroom in order to obtain statements under oath from someone who may have information relative to the case.
Det. Thomas Ransford led the 2016 sexual abuse investigation. He was deposed last week by a private law firm in Tucson contracted to defend the state.
David Frodsham will be incarcerated until January 2033. He will then begin a term of lifetime probation and must register as a sex offender.
Convictions were also obtained against Anthony Savage and Randall Bischak, who at the time was in the U.S. Army assigned to Fort Huachuca.