A 17-year-old spent eight months alone in Jamaica, after his adoptive parents allegedly abandoned him there. Child welfare advocates have said that what happened to Elijah Goldman is something that biological parents would not get away with. Mark and Spring Goldman adopted Elijah from Haiti when he was 10 years old. Seven years later, they left him alone in Jamaica for months, even after knowing that he had been abused at school.
Elijah's adoptive parents sent him to the Atlantic Leadership Academy in Treasure Beach, Jamaica, in September 2023, per the Detroit Free Press. But five months later, Elijah and six other American boys were removed from the school and placed in protective custody amid abuse allegations. Though the school was shut down, Elijah's adoptive parents never picked him up.
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At first, Elijah's parents were 'loving.'
Elijah's adoptive parents, Mark and Spring Goldman, are from Traverse City, Michigan. According to the Detroit Free Press, they have denied multiple requests to speak to reporters. Mark and Spring have two biological children and two children adopted from Haiti, Elijah and his younger sister, who is 12 years old.
In a statement shared with US Embassy officials, law enforcement, and the Detroit Free Press, Elijah said the Goldmans were "loving" at first.
Things changed when Elijah became a teenager.
Though the Goldmans have declined opportunities to speak to reporters, it is believed that they couldn't deal with some of Elijah's more challenging teenage behaviors, like watching porn, lying, and running away, per USA Today.
The Goldmans sent Elijah to several different boarding schools for "troubled" kids with behavioral issues. He was sent to the Atlantis Leadership Academy boarding school in Jamaica after fleeing from another school, reported USA Today.
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Even though they knew about the abuse allegations, Elijah's adoptive parents reportedly didn't want to bring him home.
After several months at the Atlantis Leadership Academy, Elijah and some other students were removed from the school. It was shut down a month later. Former students and parents say that students at the school were abused by adult staff members, reported NBC News.
Students described being whipped and choked, being forced to stay in a small shed for days with nothing but water, rice, and a bucket, and being forced to do extreme exercises to the point of throwing up. Elijah was reportedly beaten with a hammer and cut with a razor at the school, per USA Today.
Even after hearing about the abuse, Elijah said his parents "didn't want me home."
He says he was alone in Jamaica for eight months.
Because his adoptive parents never went to pick him up, Elijah spent eight months in Jamaican group homes, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Child welfare advocates, including Paris Hilton and New York children's rights attorney Dawn Post, were shocked by Elijah's story. Post commented on how the "wealthy parents" thought they could get away with abandoning their son in another country.
"They were specifically told, 'Your son was abused.' And they didn’t even send him clothes," Post said, per USA Today.
Hilton has been open about being abused at youth residential treatment facilities when she was a teenager. On September 8, she posted on X, urging her fans to support Elijah.
"Elijah needs our help. I met him in Jamaica and have been helping support him since," she wrote on the platform. "He is an amazing kid and what is happening to him in Traverse City is truly unconscionable."
Elijah returned to Michigan, but his adoptive parents wanted to send him to Utah.
On September 3, Elijah finally returned to Michigan, but his adoptive parents reportedly didn't want to welcome him back to their home, reported the Detroit Free Press. Instead, they tried to send him to Utah.
On September 11, the Goldmans consented to having Elijah being temporarily placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, which means he can live with a foster parent. A retired teacher in Traverse City, Michigan, has already expressed interest in being Elijah's foster mom, though she still has to be approved by CPS.
While still in Jamaica, Elijah wrote in a message to the Detroit Free Press about his adoptive parents. "I appreciate them for bringing me to the US, but they abandoned me," he wrote at the time. "I'm staying strong, but it hurts."
