A Parenting & kids forum. ParentingBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » ParentingBanter.com forum » alt.parenting » Spanking
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Smithfield man sues county CYS



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old June 17th 08, 07:31 AM posted to alt.support.child-protective-services,alt.support.foster-parents,alt.dads-rights.unmoderated,alt.parenting.spanking
fx
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,848
Default Smithfield man sues county CYS

Smithfield man sues county CYS

By Jennifer Harr, Herald-Standard
06/17/2008
Updated 06/17/2008 12:29:56 AM EDT

http://www.heraldstandard.com/site/n... 480247&rfi=6

A Smithfield man has sued Fayette County Children and Youth Services on
Monday, claiming that the agency had no right to remove his children -
ages 5, 6 and 8 - from him in 2006.

A caseworker took the children from the 29-year-old man's home during an
investigation into his relationship with a 16-year-old girl who
sometimes baby-sat the children.

The man, referred to as John Doe in the suit, and the 16-year-old,
identified only as K.K., both told a CYS caseworker that they waited
until she was 16 to have a physical relationship, according to the suit,
filed in federal court in Pittsburgh. The age of consent in Pennsylvania
is 16.

Also filed was a request for a temporary restraining order that would
return Doe's children to him.

The suit, filed by American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania
attorney Sara Rose, indicated the man never was accused of abusing his
own children, and asks a judge to order their immediate return.

"My kids are my whole life and I just want them back," Doe is quoted as
saying in an ACLU-issued press release about the suit.

Rose said that CYS "abused its power to place children in state custody
by removing these children from their father, even though the children
never have been abused and are in no danger of abuse.

"As a result, Doe has had no contact with his children for almost a
year, and has not lived with his children for almost two years. That is
time with his children that he will never get back," Rose said.

The children have lived with Doe's parents since September 2006, and Doe
has had no communication with them since August 2007.

"Even parents convicted of abusing their children often are allowed more
contact with their children than plaintiff," Rose contended in the suit.

According to the filing, Doe got involved with K.K. in 2006, after she
turned 16.

K.K. also acted as a baby sitter for the Doe children, according to the
complaint, and Doe and K.K. have known one another "for a number of
years through family connections."

The suit indicated that Doe and K.K. "deliberately waited" until K.K.
turned 16 to initiate a sexual relationship because they called the
Crime Victims Center of Fayette County to inquire about the age of
consent in Pennsylvania.

K.K.'s mother found out about the relationship and called police in
September 2006, Rose indicated.

"The police declined to press charges against plaintiff because engaging
in a consensual sexual relationship with a 16-year-old is not a crime
under Pennsylvania law," Rose wrote.

The legal standards that police and CYS apply to cases differ.

K.K.'s mother also contacted CYS, the suit alleged, and a caseworker
initiated an investigation. During that investigation, they both
admitted to having a sexual relationship after K.K. turned 16, according
to the complaint.

In November 2006, a letter from CYS informed Doe that the agency had
determined there was "substantial evidence" that he sexually abused K.K.
Doe appealed in January 2007, the suit indicated. The state Department
of Public Welfare heard the appeal in November 2007, and has not yet
rendered a decision.

The suit indicated a caseworker called Doe on Sept. 22, 2006, and asked
if there was anywhere his three children could stay during a 60-day CYS
investigation into the investigations into the allegations that he
abused K.K.

If there was nowhere for the children to stay, the caseworker told Doe
that they would have to go into foster care, the suit alleged.

Doe sent the children to stay with his parents, according to the suit.
He was allowed supervised visits by CYS, the suit indicated, and visited
with them daily until Aug. 1, 2007.

That day, another caseworker came to Doe's parents' home with two state
troopers and said she believed he was having unsupervised visits with
his children.

That caseworker threatened to remove the Doe children unless plaintiff's
mother signed a plan that forbade Doe's parents from allowing the
children to have any contact with the plaintiff, the suit alleged.

Neither caseworker told Doe or his mother what their rights were, Rose
alleged.

On Aug. 2, 2007, a third caseworker told Doe's mother that he could not
talk to his children unless he completed a sex-offender treatment program.

Doe indicated in the suit that he attended one sex-offender class, but
stopped after learning that one of the requirements was admitting that
he was a perpetrator of sexual abuse.

"Plaintiff refuses to state that he is a perpetrator of sexual abuse, as
he disputes defendants' claim that his relationship with K.K.
constituted sexual abuse under the law and contests defendants'
contention that he is a perpetrator as that term is defined in the Child
Protective Services Act," the suit stated.

The suit indicated that CYS closed the case and indicated that it is the
agency's policy that because Doe is believed to be a sexual abuser that
he cannot have any contact with his children.

Doe, according to the suit, is the children's' legal guardian since June
2005, when he and their mother separated. Their mother has been a
psychiatric patient at Torrance State Hospital in Torrance since
February 2008.

U.S. District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose has been assigned the case.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Cochise County Arizona: PARALEGAL SUES CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES,LOCAL, STATE GOVT FOR $50 MILLION fx Spanking 1 August 4th 07 05:03 AM
Cochise County Arizona: PARALEGAL SUES CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES,LOCAL, STATE GOVT FOR $50 MILLION fx Foster Parents 1 August 4th 07 05:03 AM
Former resident sues county, Department of Social Services: claimsthat "government officials" knew the allegations were false, but still begana "nine-month campaign of harassment." fx Spanking 1 June 10th 07 12:30 PM
CA - Teen Sues L.A. (county) After Decade in Foster Care Dusty Child Support 21 July 21st 06 01:58 AM
UPDATE: CA - Teen Sues L.A. (county) After Decade in Foster Care Dusty Child Support 1 July 19th 06 04:26 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:25 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 ParentingBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.