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Okay ... and the "father" is doing WHAT, besides snitching tattling tipping, to provide a decent life for his children?

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.

the fact that the father was concerned enough to ask the Police to investigate is a big point in his favor.

Or, he could just be one of those control freaks who doesn't give a damn about the kids, just wants to punish their mommy. I know a woman in a similar situation - hubby cheated and beat her; she showed him the door; he married the new honey and fought childcare payments all the way, then suddenly decided he wanted the kids again. Because he was consistently late with childcare payments, she and the kids were existing on pennies. And THEN he tried using her poverty level (that HE created) against her in a custody battle.

Could be the same situation in this story. Of course, she obviously isn't Suzy Homemaker, but who knows what part he may have played in it?

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.