Frustrating situation...m

[Giggles]

I have a co-worker that is going through a huge custody mess that just keeps dragging on due to the Mother not complying with the orders and a court that in my opinion isn't taking this situation seriously!!

A bit of back ground:  The couple divorced in 06 and they have 3 children.  They have joint custody and the reason the custody suit came about (father wants full custody) is because of possible sexual abuse and the Mother wanting to move the children to FL.  All parties are currently in MD.

The father started suspecting sexual abuse because the younger children were exibiting sexual behavior more than that of just child curiosity.  He has since learned that the children have been exposed to pornographic movies that they have watched in the presence of their Mother.  The children often describe what takes place during those movies and have stated that the mother "rubs my pee pee" while watching them.

Social services has been called, a GAL has been assigned and is aware that this is taking place but NOTHING is being done!!!  There was a court date this past Monday which was continued because the mother hasn't complied with the order for mediation and to meet with the GAL.  The new court date is in May, yet the mother keeps telling the children they are moving at the end of the month.

We all know damn well that if the roles were reversed and the Mother suspected the father of this abuse, that the kids would be ripped out of there in a heartbeat and the father thrown in jail...so WHY is it dragging when the roles are reversed?

I suggested to my co-worker to stop playing around with the court and go to the news...these kids are being sexually abused and the courts don't seem to give a rats ass!!!

Is there anything else they can do to get this case moving along?  It's been going on for over a YEAR!!!

[Kitty C.]

I think going to the media is an excellent suggestion.  Isn't DHS/CPS involved at all?  What about local law enforcement?  If LE investigates and refers to DHS, then DHS must follow up and report back to LE.  Also, I would be looking more at getting criminal charges filed against the mother, THEN investigating how this is affecting the kids.  If the father has an opportunity, he might want to take the kids to to be interviewed by LE......maybe they would have someone from DHS there as well.

[Giggles]

LE is involved..my co-worker is a COP, SHE reported the activity to CPS and CPS hasn't done a thing!!  CPS was supposed to supply the GAL with a report and so far NOTHING!

My Co-worker video taped the the interview with the children and so far the GAL hasn't turned the tape over to CPS.

At court on Monday the father went off and told the GAL to "do SOMETHING...anything....even put them in foster care...anything to get them away from her".  He's afraid that she'll see the video and take it out on the kids...they are deathly afraid of her.

[babyfat]

these situations are discusting! I'll tell ya my first thought -- you didn't think she was a molester when you were married to her probably a nasty custody battle gone really bad. And that is probably what Child services are thinking as well. That doesn't mean that is the correct assumption to jump to with out evidence to support it. In my states CPS guide it specifically states when abuse/neglect alligations arise during divorce/custody disputes proceed with caution. Another words probably just one parent making up stuff telling the child to repeat it aka PAS. And yes I totally agree if the mom made this type of claim the child would be undersupervised visits if any visits were to take place at all! Becuase this is an alligation on mom being a sexual abuser it is for sure taken less seriously but truth is a deviant can be either male or female. What the police need to do is secure a warrent to search the woman house for porn if the child can describe what is on that tape/dvd you got her. It is really simple. Why are they not doing that? This is not just a child welfare case it is a legal case child molestation is against the law. Hell if this is true the child can probably even say where mom gets the porn from or where it is stored. This one should be an easy one why are they making it so difficult?

[Giggles]

It is disgusting and my heart goes out to those kids!  The custody case didn't arise until Mom announced that she was moving to FL and there wasn't anything Dad could do about it.  So Dad filed to stop the move, thankfully that was successful but it's just gone downhill from there!!  The Sex abuse has just recently came out!  The kids know where it's stored...right on the DVD player where they can access it at any time.

The other problem is that the Mother WORKS for the court so they've had to jump through all kinds of hoops to get anything done.  Papers mysteriously dissapear, court dates are somehow continued without the father knowing..etc.  This is why I told her to take it to the news...they are fighting for these kids and getting road blocks galore...it's sad!!!

[Kitty C.]

Then I'd be demanding a change of venue IMMEDIATELY, as it's obvious the county it's filed in cannot be impartial.  What I don't get is what is stopping the cops from bringing charges on her as it stands right now.  you cna't tell me they have to wait for CPS in order to do that, because not all sex abuse cases go through CPS.  Have you had any contact with anyone higher up the LE ladder?

I said arrest instead of warrant because, if what you said is right and they try to get a warrant signed by a judge, it's possible something could 'happen' to that, too.  By bringing charges and arresting her, they can get her in custody BEFORE the courts can do anything about it.