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Michelle Mann and her husband, Rufus Chisolm were two parents who got lucky when it came to avoiding trouble with the Bureau Of Child Welfare, Michelle's son, 5 year old Adam, would pay with his life, for the mistakes the agencies who get paid to protect him, made.

No strangers to protection services, before Adam was even born, the Mann family had been featured on a show called "Frontline" with the focus being on New York's Emergency Children's Services and the caseworkers who worked there. In the Mann home, it was shown by using hospital records and family members who testified, that there was severe abuse and neglect in the home. Denials from the parents as well as shockingly some of the Emergency Children's Services, the family was able to lie their way out of any charges.

Adam was the fourth child born to Michelle and he was taken into protective custody and for Michelle to get him and his siblings back, she had to check into a rehab center. Michelle is reported to have still abused Adam while she was still in the program and even then she is STILL given custody of all four of her children. Rufus was her new partner & he joins the household and it isn't long before he too is abusing the children. A Foundling Hospital official recommends that these children should be taken from this home, however, due to incompetence and indifference, the city workers ignore the obvious signs of child abuse and the children sadly remain in the home.

A online video of the documentary in one clip shows one of the visits, the home is quite messy, the children seem dirty/unkempt and one boy has bruises that are clearly visible to the camera. This visit took place before Adam was born. Adam's older brothers were living in the home with their parents and this was the third time CPS had been called in reference to the same child, Keith Mann. Rufus can been seen and heard yelling "These ain't my damn kids, these ain't my damn kids" and "It's no need for this, but I swear, I swear, I will never forget this day". Larry Mann was four months old at the time of the visit, Peter Mann was three years old and Keith Mann is 18 months old. The CPS workers can even be heard laughing and one of them even tells Michelle that he's sorry to disturb her and shakes the hand of Rufus before they leave the home. Camera's showed the bruises on the body of Keith, however, all of the children are still left in the home.

A police report made on March 5, 1990, says that the first time police saw Adam, he was laying face down on a table in the emergency room. Adam only weighed 35 pounds at the age of five and he was covered with thick welts and lacerations as well as bruises. Adams lips were beaten bloody and swollen. Doctors had tried to revive him and were not able to do so. Police recommended that this case should remain active.

At some point in their lives, for all of the children in the home, except for the youngest child, who was a girl, beatings and broken bones were very common in the house and Child Welfare had been aware of the abuse/neglect since 1984 and reports say they just kept on ignoring it. Keith Mann, who was then two years old, had his spleen ruptured, intestine perforate, liver damage, and fractures in his face, ribs, arms and skull. He had been severely beaten. Michelle finally lost custody of her children after that attack for awhile although she agreed to better and they were swiftly returned to her.

Larry Mann, who was three years old at the time, has his wrist and leg broken and was reported to have so many other fractures that were considered minor, that authorities lost count it was a shock that Larry was able to walk at all . After Adam's death, Peter Mann, who was the eldest of the children, tried to commit suicide saying that he just wanted to be with Adam in Heaven.

An autopsy done on Adam showed he had more than 100 injuries including a cracked skull, broken ribs and his liver was split in two, all which were listed as reasons for his death. Michelle Mann and Rufus Chisolm were arrested and eventually sent to prison. Rufus plead guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to only seven to 14 years for the brutal death of Adam. Michelle plead guilty to two assault charges, that she hit Larry on one occasion and had hit Adam with a belt on another occasion. She was sentenced to 6 years but served 4.

The siblings of Adam were reported to grow up in foster homes where they are violent , angry and even suicidal. It is reported that when Michelle got out of prison, the Bureau Of Child Welfare had planned to still give her children back to her.

Michelle was released from prison in January of 1994 and she was looking to get her children back. Michelle gave birth to another child, a boy, who was taken from her, however, it was reported that she would eventually get him back. Rufus Chisolm was eligible for parole in 1995. The plan put together by Child Welfare was to return all of the children back to Michelle and there were no rules stating that Rufus could not be a part of the family. Michelle's two oldest boys were eventually returned to her care, although her daughter had been adopted by another family.

Children's Rights filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the city for the Mann children as well as other children who were abused and neglected, claiming that the city has failed to properly investigate charges of child abuse and has not managed the cases of children in their care, properly. Sadly, the lawsuit only brought $183,000 for the siblings of Adam.