THE birth mom of Ukrainian adoptee Natalia Grace – who was accused of posing as a child and later had her age raised by a court – wanted to take her back amid the adoption scandal claiming she was telling the truth.

ID documentary The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks, premieres on January 1, and follows the fascinating case of the young woman’s adoption scandal.

After being labeled a possible sociopathic adult, DNA testing has now proved she was a child when her former family Michael and Kristine Barnett took her in.

A 2012 court order changed her age from an eight-year-old girl to a 22-year-old woman and therefore relieved her adoptive parents from legal responsibility.

The following year they paid rent for an apartment in Lafayette, Indiana, about an hour northwest of Indianapolis, where she lived alone for a year before telling police she had been abandoned.

The Barnetts were later charged with neglect of a dependent but the charges were later dropped because of the court order.

The documentary crew tracked down her biological mom, Anna Gava, in Ukraine. Gava confirmed her daughter was a child when she was adopted.

“She was born on September 4, 2003,” she said. “She was born at 6.25 am in the Maternity Hospital No. 1. She is my biological daughter.”

She said she gave her up because she was told she would need numerous surgeries having been born with spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita – a form of dwarfism.

MOTHER’S PLEA

In an exclusive chat with The U.S. Sun, Beth Karas, a legal analyst who appears heavily in the series, says her birth mom appears once more in the program.

“Her birth mother is in it again. She’d like Natalia to be with her, which is a little [crazy]. Ukraine right now, are you kidding?” she said.

“And Natalia has no relationship with her biological mother at all. I mean, this is the woman who gave her up.

“Whether you believe she was born in 1989 or 2003, she’s an adult today.

“Why, as an adult, would she go back to the birth mother who gave her up and sent her on this journey of being bounced around families?

“I haven’t spoken to Natalia about it, but she does address it a little bit in season two. Natalia is an American, she’s not Ukrainian, except by birth.”

She confirmed her mom barely speaks English, and Natalia has no plans to reunite with her or move back to Ukraine.

In episode four of the new series, her birth mother says via FaceTime: “Frankly, I would like her here with me.

“I understand of course that 19 years is a significant period, but I would like her to be with me.”

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Natalia immediately says directly to the camera: “I don’t want to open that door of a relationship with Anna.

“I get it you know, you probably do wanna see me and everything like that, but I have a family here. I have my parents who raised me.

“It’s different with Anna because she only gave birth to me, but she let me go pretty much that same day. It started bringing in some hurt emotions because I haven’t been in the Ukraine since I was five.”

She added that she had “scary” memories of being in an orphanage after she was given up for adoption.

In the earlier installment, her biological mother explained why she gave her up for adoption.

She said: “They showed her to me. The childbirth was difficult as well, very difficult. When I regained consciousness after anesthesia, the next day the doctor came and said, “There is no sense to take her home.”

“They said that she won’t be able to walk at all, and she will be of very short stature.

“They said a surgery would cost $100,000, and since ‘you don’t have such finances’, ‘you also have an older daughter’ – I already had Julia at the time and Natasha came after her… She brought me a sample of the waiver on the paper, and I had to write five copies of it. 

“I didn’t initially want to leave her, but the doctors said there is nothing you could do for her. ‘You are so young,’ they said. ‘You are 24 years old. Don’t ruin your life, you will have other children.'”

‘CIVIL ACTION’

Natalia, who has finally found happiness with a new family, spent time bouncing around homes before her ordeal with the Barnetts and could be looking to sue after claiming she was mistreated.

Beth said: “The criminal charges against Kristine were dismissed with prejudice, which means that she cannot be charged again. Michael was acquitted.

“So it’s over, right? The criminal case is over. Plus a lot of time has passed.

“Statute of limitations has expired … they were charged and can’t be charged again. Okay. Is there any sort of remedy in the civil court? My understanding is that Natalia through an attorney is exploring that.”

Asked to clarify if Natalia is looking to sue the Barnetts, Beth replied: “Yes, or some sort of remedy. Even re-aging herself back down, you know, if that’s possible.”

Reps for the ID show were unable to comment further on any possible civil action.

The Curious Case of Natalia Grace: Natalia Speaks will premiere across three consecutive nights on ID beginning Monday, January 1, airing nightly at 9 pm ET/PT.