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What's New/News: Vol. 3, Issue 1 |
ADVOCACY NEWS |
| Dear Readers: Now that I am starting to combine law and disability issues
together (as someone about to take the Texas Bar Exam), I thought I would share a recent
case that I worked on with you. The situation
makes me realize how much of an uphill battle I will be facing as an attorney for
individuals with disabilities. A father and mother went to court
last Friday. The father and mother are divorced. One
parent gets their darling, eight-year-old girl with learning disabilities one week and the
other parent gets custody the next. We
represent the father. Last Sunday, the girl was dropped
off by the mother. The father drove the child
to the home of the child's tutor to work on her reading skills. At the home of the tutor, the child began to
cry out in pain. The daughter of the tutor
ran to the girl who was screaming that she hurt because the mother's boyfriend "hurt
her where [she goes] to the bathroom." She
pointed to her genital area. The tutor,
father and stepmother ran over to the child. They
listened to the child and then called the authorities. The police officer who took the
report promised the child that she would never have to see the molester again. The father and stepmother then called the Rape
Crisis Hotline. The Hotline directed the family to the Santa Rosa Children's Hospital. The child was examined. The nurse who specializes in child sexual abuse
told the parents that the little girl had, most likely, been sexually molested. The father had his lawyer get the information
before a judge in the form of an emergency motion for a hearing that same week (before the
child was returned to the mother). Both the
father and the stepmother were overwhelmed with emotions.
The father felt tremendous anger at the perpetrator. But, at least, there might be a remedy in the
court system. Now, some background before
continuing this story: The father is remarried. He has a child, a little boy, with his second
wife. They own a modest three-bedroom home in a nice neighborhood. The stepmother works full time outside the home. The father works part time and stays home with the
children after school. The father has a
college degree. The stepmother hopes to
complete a college degree in education in the next couple of years. The father tutors his
children after school. The stepmother is the
leader of the little girl's Girl Scout troop. The father also has a disability, nothing
major, but enough so that he cannot work full time. Both the father and stepmother are
active in the PTA. They volunteer time at
their children's school. They both make sure
the little girl gets the extra tutoring she needs to keep up, as much as possible, with
her class. Both the father and the stepmother
are at home every night with the children. The
children have regular bedtimes, warm meals and a large circle of family and adults to care
for them. The mother is a stripper who never
completed high school. She works nights. The
weeks the child is at home with the mother, the child goes from school to babysitters. The little girl never knows where she will be any
evening. There is no mother to help her with homework or to read a bedtime story. In fact, the mother has switched
babysitters almost a dozen times in the past few years. The mother lives in a rented
duplex. She moves often and lived in a stable
for over a year. Different boyfriends visit
and spend the night with the mother. One
particular boyfriend, the accused child molester, often baby-sits. Then he is responsible for bathing and dressing
this child. The father has tried to get the
court system to change the visitation so that, on school nights, he has his daughter so
that this little girl can get the special attention she needs. In exchange, the father has offered to allow his
ex-wife to have the child most weekends and when the mother is off of work. He has asked to baby-sit for the child while the
mother works. The mother is adamant about not
allowing these changes. The father does not
have the income to sustain a long court battle so the status of the child has remained the
same. Back to the story: We went into court. The little girl wanted to speak to the judge. She said several times that she was scared to go
home. She wanted to tell the judge why.
However, the judge, Frank Montalvo, refused to speak to the little girl. The nurse testified. She stated
emphatically that she believed the child. The tutor and her daughter testified about the
child's outcry. The father testified. The judge said he believed the testimony. He admonished the mother to keep the boyfriend
away then ordered the child sent home on the following Sunday in compliance with the
previous orders. No other stipulations were made. The
mother, who had expressed disbelief in the accusations, just had to promise to keep the
molester away. So Sunday, the frightened father and
stepmother spoke with me. They wanted advice
on how they could protect their child. She
has learning disabilities. She cannot remember long phrases. She has difficulty remembering telephone numbers. They could teach her to dial "911" but
what could this little girl be taught to say to protect herself? I called "911", asked for
a supervisor, then relayed the problem. I
inquired about what a child could do to obtain help.
The supervisor, Randy, told me that this girl could say, "Help me. A man is causing a disturbance."
"Disturbance?" I asked the child
if she would repeat that word. She couldn't. We settled for, "Help me. There is a mean man here." The call would have to be traced because the child
did not know her address. Then Randy brought up another problem. If the mother answered the door, which is likely,
she could deny that anything was wrong. The mother could (and probably would) deny that
her boyfriend was there in defiance of a court order. She could refuse to admit the
police. Basically, unless the child began
yelling out when she saw the police officer, she would not be helped. The parents were horrified. The system, which should protect innocents, could
not help this child protect herself. The court system failed her. The emergency system
failed her. And, now, her father would betray
her, by court order, and deliver one terrified child back to a situation where no one
could protect her. At the police station where this
child is exchanged every week, the child tried to hide.
She begged her mother to let her stay with her father. The dispatcher even asked the mother to reassure
the little girl or hug her. The police
officer, witnessing the scene, said he would have refused to return the child if she had
been his. |
| Think about it. That is the
legal system at work in the year 2000. Take Care. Karen Seal |
