Mother arrested after five children found living in-police surprised how well children were doing

ktrk ^

[Tax-chick]

As much as that he does, which is to say, not at all. I just asked a question.

[Arthalion]

Chances are, he didn't have custody because the courts are under the delusion that the mother can do no wrong. Notice how the children are farmed out to "foster homes" rather than to the father... could be for a variety of reasons, but the fact that the father was concerned enough to ask the Police to investigate is a big point in his favor.

YES! I have a close friend going through this RIGHT NOW. The guy was a devoted husband who always provided for his family, and was a decent, religious man right up to the day that his wife of ten years ran off with an old high school flame...and their four kids. She declared that she was going to "live the life she always wanted", and started smoking dope, partying, and sleeping around. On what money? The crippling child support payments that she was extracting from her now ex-husband.

She played the "poor abused wife" card, and even though she had ZERO evidence to support her allegation, and despite the fact that many witnesses, including two of their older children, signed affidavits calling her a liar and a drug user, the judge awarded the mother full custody and nailed him for nearly 70% of his monthly income.

When the kids started showing signs of abuse and neglect a few months later, he again took it to court. The nine year old boy testified that he had been beaten by his moms boyfriends several times. The five year old girl explained how her mom had forced her to pick up dog poop with her bare hands because it "made mommy sick" and they didn't have any toilet paper in the house. The older children testified that the two year old sometimes wore the same diaper for up to two days, and that she would often only get changed when the older kids did it. They also testified that mommy's favorite dinner for the kids was POPCORN. He even presented a letter from the schools nurse and a police investigator describing bruises and welts on the kids that indicated child abuse. And what did he get for his efforts? He was lambasted by the judge for BRAINWASHING THE KIDS, WASTING HIS TIME and HARASSING his ex wife, and his visitation was cut in half. His final words to my friend were, "If I see you in here again, you'll only be seeing your kids on the holidays!"

Frustrated, he played the only card he had left: he called CPS. After a few at-school visits with the kids, the CPS investigators determined that the stories were true and decided to pull the kids. Two came out of school, and a CPS agent and county deputy sheriff went to pick up the other three from their apartment (she's since had another baby from one of her boyfriends). What did they find? Mom had gone to the store for over 30 minutes and left the newborn and two year old locked inside their apartment alone. When a neighbor (who had kid #3) explained that she did this 'often', the deputy sheriff kicked in the front door and entered to retrieve the children. From the police report, they found the following when they entered: "drug paraphenalia including syringes and water pipes" on the kitchen counters. The 6 month old baby was laying in a bassinette "without any type of diaper or cover, and was covered with feces and flies". The hallway in the apartment was desribed as a "minefield of dog feces". "The kitchen contained no edible food other than microwave popcorn, and dry cereal, and cool aid(sic). There was no milk, formula, or clean bottles for the babies. The sink was full of dirty dishes, many with mold indicating that they had been in this state for quite some time. The waste can was overflowing with garbage, which extanded across the floor for three feet around the base of the can. A large number of maggots and flies were seen in the garbage." They also found ONE diaper, sized for the two year old. The summary of the sheriff deputy? "This is the most disgusting house I have ever seen."

When "mommy" showed up after 30 mintues with a fresh case of beer, a carton of cigarrettes, and a loaf of bread, she was arrested and shoved into a waiting police car. Did she cry with regret? Did she worry about her kids? Did she try to explain away everything? No...she taunted the officers and told them that she couldn't be charged with anything because they didn't have a warrant to enter the house. She isn't the brightest bulb in the box.

And what of my friend, who has a nice 1600sf 3/2, a steady 60k/yr job doing wood restoration in old homes, and who has never been described as anything but a "doting father" by those who know him? Did he get his kids back? Nope, CPS still has them in foster care and are refusing to turn them over. Since the county refuses to drop his child support requirements without a judges approval, and since he can't get a court appearance for about another month, he doesn't have the money to pay a decent lawyer and get his kids back. CPS has them, and doesn't want to let them go.

Of course, he admitted the other day that even CPS has to be treating them better than their mom did, so he doesn't regret his decision to call them. Between the bad judges, bad parents, and power mad CPS agents, these kids are having a cr*p childhood.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Can you be specific?

I believe I still have the local newspaper articles. I should be able to check most "distortions."

TIA

[nobdysfool]

That is the kind of thing that makes my blood boil. How a judge, a MALE judge at that, could so thoroughly sell out a man to enable a piece of scum woman like that? Especially after what CPS found? It is painfully obvious that the system has completely marginalized men. To the system, men are sperm donors and a bank account, nothing more.

I hope your friend can get his day in court, and after he gets his kids, I hope he campaigns hard to get that judge removed from office. He's a disgrace to the bench and to the legal system.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

Since there was a complaint about "distortions" in my earlier post I will clarify my statement that the authorities "pocketed the huge difference between back property taxes and the sale price." The money went into their agencies' pockets which was/is legal in Idaho.

If that was the distortion sorry if I offended the Idaho authorities.

[FITZ]

You aren't concerned when the state and fed feel it necessary to take away people's children and property?

In a case like this --- it seems the father might be the better parent. Maybe he should be given custody ---- a drug addict isn't going to be the better parent.

[FITZ]

I knew a guy whose ex-wife married her drug dealer, who made a pass at the 18 year old daughter and the 14 year old daughter was sleeping on the floor and he couldn't get custody ---- he finally did but only after the wife went bankrupt, foreclosed on the family home and voluntarily gave up custody. He always held a good paying job, owned a nice 3-bedroom home and was stable.

[Porterville]

Hmm, I wonder if the ex is in to public administration... how could she afford such a nice lot if she was a total loon?? My guess her ex was a friend of many...

[Arthalion]

It's not even the sperm donors...they just want the bank account. My friend was ordered by the court to pay $2400 a month in child support. He sends his check to the county, and THEY send her a check for $1800...skimming $600 off the top for handling and to pay for "other services". It's a scam, pure and simple, and it requires wage earning parents in order to continue operating. If the judge had given the kids to him and ordered her to pay, she would have simply plead poverty and the county would have been out $600 a month. This way, they get to keep her on the public dole AND make a tidy profit.

As for him, he SHOULD be able to get his kids back with a decent lawyer (a lawyer from his church offered to represent him on Sunday, and will let him pay after the child support is suspended, so things are looking up for him in that regard). The ONLY reason CPS won't give him the children right now are the divorce claims she made against him...they found the battery allegations in their divorce papers and are now referring to him as an "abusive father". Any decent attorney could blow a million holes in that argument, he just hasn't had one to do it with.

[Arthalion]

It's not even the sperm donors...they just want the bank account. My friend was ordered by the court to pay $2400 a month in child support. He sends his check to the county, and THEY send her a check for $1800...skimming $600 off the top for handling and to pay for "other services". It's a scam, pure and simple, and it requires wage earning parents in order to continue operating. If the judge had given the kids to him and ordered her to pay, she would have simply plead poverty and the county would have been out $600 a month. This way, they get to keep her on the public dole AND make a tidy profit.

As for him, he SHOULD be able to get his kids back with a decent lawyer (a lawyer from his church offered to represent him on Sunday, and will let him pay after the child support is suspended, so things are looking up for him in that regard). The ONLY reason CPS won't give him the children right now are the divorce claims she made against him...they found the battery allegations in their divorce papers and are now referring to him as an "abusive father". Any decent attorney could blow a million holes in that argument, he just hasn't had one to do it with.

[Just another Joe]

Somebody using a bong does have a problem, and has left the realm of casual use.

I would tend to disagree with that.
It is still the same delivery system, smoke. Just because the means to deliver the smoke has changed means very little.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I am not interested in this issue any more. It was fully discussed when it occurred. However, the genesis of the problem was attacks by the family dogs on passers-by. That is what brought the police into the picture and led to the discovery of the horrors there.

It's basic story was one of a woman overwhelmed by the illness and death of her husband not some overreaching governmental intrusions into the serandiptious lives of brave anti-governmental patriots. Man from good family goes through mental and physical decline and his family suffered for it. Without the local government's involvement a greater tragedy would likely have resulted since the mother was totally unable to cope.

One of the daughters was able to remove herself from this disaster and was found to have symptoms of malnutrition as evidenced by weak and fractured bones.

[WilliamofCarmichael]

I agree that this has been discussed and discussed. . . months ago. I too do not see a point in further discussion. But my truthfulness was impugned. I saw that what I said about the Idaho authorities could be interpreted in a manner I did not intend. I attempted to correct that.

The oldest daughter was injured during U.S. Air Force recruit training. AF doctors did suggest problems stemming from childhood. The family's problems were more recent than that.

We obviously disagree. But I would be remiss to not point out that the mother was in fact seeking help when she accepted a policeman's offer of a ride to the Social Security office. She never made it there.

Your second paragraph is accurate except IMO the mother was in fact seeking help. I also believe that local authorities offered to help the family with their back taxes months earlier but were refused. I will always believe those who argue that the developers who acquired the property wanted the family off their property.

[justshutupandtakeit]

It never had to get to the point where developers could even get into the picture.

I did not mean to imply you were lying in your earlier statement. If you took it that way I am sorry.