Plagiarist Cheryl Barnes has terminal cancer

"If you read the 'Parents Guide to the System' you were helped by Cheryl Barnes." That's what the comment on the gofundme page says.

The lies continue. The truth is, if you read Parents Guide to the System (PGTS), you were helped by Suzanne Shell. Barnes plagiarized Shell's work to produce this book and took sole credit for it. Barnes never demonstrated the ability to create what she wrote without stealing it. She never wrote or published anything else, and built her entire CPS Watch organization and fee-based business exclusively on this plagiarized work.

Once caught, she publicly and repeatedly blamed her victim, badmouthed her victim and denied her theft. She continues to give permission for others to publish this plagiarized work, yet declines to take the risk of publishing it herself, having been dragged into court once already for it. Is the conduct of a good person?

And now Barnes is in hospice, cancer treatments having failed to put her Myeloma in remission. It is reported she is terminal. That's what hospice is for, terminal patients at the end of their lives.

Great sympathetic copy for fundraising, but sadly, not true.

Has Barnes admitted her plagiarism? Not to Ms. Shell, and not as evidenced by her giving permission to Roz McAllister/Ohio Family Rights to publish the book on their web site, for which they are now facing a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Ms. Shell.

Has Barnes apologized? Repented? Made it right? Ms. Shell reports not. Does Ms. Shell forgive Barnes? Ms. Shell states nobody can forgive someone who doesn't seek it -- that forgiveness requires the wrongdoer to repent and ask forgiveness. Repentance requires acts intended to make the wronged person whole. "It's not in my power to extend forgiveness to someone who doesn't want it," said Ms. Shell. "Nobody has that power. I can, however, extend my sympathy and leave it in God's hands. That's all Ms. Barnes will allow me to do."

It would seem that Barnes has a loyal following, loyal enough to believe and perpetuate her lies about authorship of PGTS. And it seems likely she will take her lies with her to the grave, undoubtedly to perpetuate a legacy of undeserved expertise in the family rights movement. She neglects to mention that the family rights movement was created and defined by none other than Ms. Shell long before Barnes became involved in it and sought help from Ms. Shell -- who was already established as the expert in this field.

Barnes's loyal followers have set up a gofundme account to help her. Let this blog remind readers that Barnes's plagiarism was committed in concert with AFRA's successful attempts to destroy Ms. Shell's business.

If the reader believes that a terminal cancer prognosis makes Barnes deserving of their financial support, please read how she ripped off families during the early CPS Watch days, and take that abhorrent conduct against vulnerable families into consideration when deciding to support her at this time.

As for Ms. Shell, when asked if she would make a donation she responded, "I have no livelihood, no income, no property, and no business, thanks in part to Ms. Barnes. She seems to be more financially secure than I am; however, if she needs me to donate something, she can ask me herself and I'll see what I can do. After all, I did say 'yes' to her requests for help in the past, and she used the help I provided to viciously destroy twenty years of my dedicated work on behalf of families involved with child welfare agencies. I think it's safe to presume she won't ask for my help, again, so the question may be moot."

Like Ms. Shell, we extend our sympathy to Ms. Barnes family, and leave Barnes, herself, in God's hands. We have faith in His justice towards one who so grievously wronged his called servant and thereby denies the opportunity for the person she wronged to forgive her by refusing to repent and ask forgiveness.