Calls pour in from around country to help baby girl

People want to adopt or help any way they can after hearing about the 9-month-old's abduction and rape.

By LINDA GIBSON

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 11, 2001

TAMPA -- Since the unsettling news broke of the kidnap and rape of a 9-month-old girl last month, people from around the country have inundated local child protection officials with the same question.

How can I help?

There wasn't a good answer until now, said Shawnna Lee, spokeswoman for the state Department of Children and Families.

The foster mother for the baby has told DCF officials the girl could use everything from baby food to blankets, toys, socks, diapers, stuffed animals, pajamas, barrettes and a walker. Any toy or mobile that makes musical sounds is especially welcome.

The donation of a car seat is in the works.

Lee said the baby, released last week from Tampa General Hospital, is doing extremely well.

"She's recovering miraculously. She's smiling, happy," Lee said.

Parents of children taken into the custody of DCF sometimes provide the clothes and supplies the children will need in foster care. The baby's family has not, Lee said.

Lee fielded calls about the baby from people in Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and California, as well across Florida.

A group of women organized an online prayer circle for the baby and some lawyers offered to represent her for free, while countless people have asked about adopting the baby, Lee said.

Investigators said Randolph Standifer, a 20-year-old friend of the child's family, snatched the baby from her crib after a night spent drinking at the family's mobile home. After raping the child, investigators said, he strangled her and left her for dead. He has been charged with kidnapping, capital sexual battery and attempted first-degree murder. He is being held in jail without bond.

The girl was taken from her home early in the morning of Sept. 22. Police found her about 10 hours later in woods near her home. She was naked, dehydrated and covered with bug bites.

Since her release from the hospital, she has been in a foster home for medically needy infants under the custody of DCF. The Times is not identifying the child or family members to protect her privacy.

People wanting to donate supplies can drop them off at the regional DCF offices at the old Floriland Mall at 9393 N Florida Ave. in Tampa.

Financial donations are discouraged because the department is not equipped to handle them and the family has not set up a trust fund. For information, call the DCF office at (813) 558-5518.

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