This child protective proceeding was commenced on June 17, 1983, pursuant to Family Court Act, Art. 10. A Bronx Order of Protection Lawyer said that, the neglect petition was filed one week after the police had responded to a neighbor’s call of a child beating, whereupon it was ascertained that the subject child, had multiple bruises, welts and lacerations. The hospital record, almost 50 pages in length, is replete with gross references that there were “multiple bruises all over body,” both old and fresh injuries, cigarette burns and belt buckle marks. The subject child, who was approximately 5 years of age at that time, also disclosed that she had been previously raped by her uncle, the mother, was arrested for endangering the welfare of a minor and, after pleading guilty, was sentenced to probation. Although she initially admitted that she had hit the subject child with a belt, she later denied it, claiming that the injuries were self-inflicted and, subsequently, she stated that she only hit the child with the cloth part of the belt.
A Bronx Order of Protection Lawyer said it appears that the mother has had a long history of psychiatric problems, having been in foster care almost since birth. At the age of 15, while she was living with her mother, she was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend, resulting in the birth of the subject child on June 20, 1978. Her other child, was born on July 5, 1982. At the time of these events, the respondent mother was employed as a typist and, to save the expense of babysitters, she had asked her brother, to stay with the children while she was at work. It is alleged that, between April and June, 1983, her brother repeatedly sodomized the subject child, who, although afraid to tell her mother did tell a neighbor’s son, whose mother told the respondent mother what had occurred. She did not report this to the police but claims she did attempt to comfort the child.
A New York Family Lawyer said that, a fact-finding hearing was held on December 21, 1983, where the court, over the objection of both the assistant corporation counsel and the law guardian, accepted an admission of neglect by the mother that she had hit the child on the arm with a cloth belt, but not with the belt buckle. The court did not allow any other evidence on the issue of abuse or neglect. Subsequently, a dispositional hearing was held, at which a staff psychiatrist, with the Family Court Mental Health Services, testified that the subject child was fearful of her mother, had refused any visitation with her and was not interested in returning to her custody. It was recommended that the child be continued in foster care and, receive psychiatric treatment, with limited supervised visitation. A psychological evaluation disclosed that the child was emotionally traumatized as a result of the mother’s physical and verbal abuse and that returning the child to the mother would, in all likelihood, lead to further abuse in the future.
New York Family Law Blog
