They seemed like the perfect foster family, selflessly taking in needy children who needed a home.Susan Blouin, a registered nurse, and her husband Raymond, took in more than 40 foster children, adopting six of them. But beginning in at least 1989, the state received complaints that the Blouins were abusing children in their care. For a two-year period ending in October 2004, the state Department of Social Services, now called the Department of Children and Families, received at least 11 reports alleging abuse -- known as 51As -- in the Blouin home. Nine of them were supported, meaning the state found reasonable cause to believe a child suffered abuse or neglect, yet it wasn't until October 2004 that the last child was removed from the home, according to a civil suit filed against the Blouins, DCF and others."The state didn't believe these children," said attorney Erica Brody, who is representing the children who filed the suit. "They didn't look through the home to see if people were being kept in dog cages. They didn't protect these children.""We lost our childhood," said John Williams, one of the children who were adopted. "We lost everything a child needs to develop and grow healthy. And everyone responsible, including (the Department of Children and Families), should be ashamed.""This case reflects negligence on the part of virtually every adult that ever came in contact with these kids," said child advocate Maureen Flatley.Flatley said the state and the abusers caused immeasurable harm. "The agency failed by any measure to provide these kids with safety and that the end of the day that it's something that can never be given back to them as adults, they're all going to experience trauma for the rest of their lives," she said.The alleged unspeakable crimes- child rape, beatings and being thrown in dog cages and more -hidden in state records and police reports for decades until 5 Investigates began shining the light on this house full of secrets. Nathan Williams, John's biological brother, called the Blouins "heartless individuals.""I'm wondering if I'm going to get beaten and if I'm going have to sleep in the dog cage tonight, or if they're going to try to feed me dog food. I feel like I was robbed of my childhood," he said. He spoke from state prison, where he's serving a 20-year sentence for rape, the cycle of abuse that began when he was continuing onto a victim of his own.Records we obtained show many of the children told social workers and teachers they were being abused, the state's own investigations found evidence of abuse and Ray Blouin even pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two of the girls in 2003. Despite these red flags and others warning of the horrific abuse throughout the years, the state kept foster children in the Blouin's home."These people were sick," said Kristine Blouin, who was also adopted by the Blouins. "I didn't even know that. I thought all of it was normal because I lived with them since I was two weeks old."The victims' voices were never truly heard until two years ago when 5 Investigates began exposing what happened inside the Blouin's home. In the wake of our reporting, the state launched a review of the case, new criminal charges were filed and other survivors came forward who say much of the harm could have been prevented because they disclosed the abuse years before some of the other children were placed in the home.Michael Moore was placed in the home in the early 1990s with his sister, Jessica."(Susan Blouin) would usually smack me across the face pretty much as hard as she could and knock me off the stool," he told 5 Investigates in a recent interview.Moore recalled the disclosure he made, first to a teacher and principal and then, he said, to a social worker.He remembered having red marks on his back photographed, and being told he was going to be removed from the Blouin home."She told me that you don't have to worry about any of that happening to you anymore," he said.That was in 1995. Moore was removed from the home, but other children, including his sister, stayed, and John and Nathan Williams were placed there after his removal.Moore remained in the foster care system his entire childhood, never finding a permanent home, while the state allowed the Blouins to care for children for nearly 10 more years.He spoke to 5 Investigates from a Florida jail, where he was serving a short sentence for a check-related crime. He has since been released and has been working out of state.It's unclear from Moore's records how the abuse allegation he made was investigated, but it appears to have not been substantiated by the state child welfare agency. But his allegation is significant in that it came nearly 10 years before the state ultimately removed the last non-biological child from the Blouin home.The last child to go was Jewelle, a severely disabled girl whose last name 5 Investigates is not revealing. Michael Moore's sister, Jessica told investigators Jewelle had been kicked and hit by Susan Blouin, but Blouin was never charged. Jessica French, her married name, told 5 Investigates she was essentially Jewelle's caretaker when she was living in the Blouin home."I remember crying on the end of Jewell's bed just praying, crying," she said in a recent interview.Jewelle is now in the care of a former teacher and doing well.A spokesperson for DCF said the damage can't be undone but they are hoping to learn from the survivors. Marylou Sudders, the state Secretary of Health and Human Services, has personally met with many of them and has offered them resources.The investigations that began after 5 Investigates reporting have led to charges of indecent assault and battery being filed against Susan and Raymond Blouin and child rape charges being filed against another adult in the home, Philip Paquette. An attorney for Susan Blouin declined to comment. An attorney for Raymond Blouin said he was confident he would beat the charge and that the criminal accusation was motivated by the lawsuit filed. Paquette is in custody and could not be reached.DCF has instituted reforms since the time of the Blouin case, including adding more social workers. But Flatley, the child advocate, said that was hardly a reason to think it couldn't happen again with another family."One of the most troubling things today is that some of the caseworkers that worked on this case still work for DCF. So any suggestion that this could never happen again is absolutely laughable," she said.