In re C.W.

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C.W. was born in 2002. His father, Rusty, moved to Louisiana and started a new family. Before Rusty left, the four-year-old daughter of a friend had accused him of sexual abuse. Rusty had practically no contact with C.W. In Louisiana, Rusty was arrested on aggravated rape charges and spent 10 months in jail. Rusty admitted having sexual intercourse with a third minor, claiming it had been consensual. C.W. entered the child dependency system at age 10. During a “trial home visit” with Rusty, C.W. deteriorated, experiencing trouble in school, conflict with his father, sexual misbehavior and trouble with the law. Rusty sent C.W. to live in a Louisiana children’s group home at the urging of local law enforcement officials. Meanwhile, in California, C.W.'s mother, Heather, had overcome homelessness and drug addiction and become gainfully employed. Heather sought C.W.’s return. The Sonoma County juvenile court terminated his dependency case when C.W. was 16, awarding sole legal and physical custody to Rusty. While an appeal was pending, Louisiana authorities removed C.W., on an emergency basis, from Rusty’s custody, and sent C.W. to California. The court of appeal reversed, first noting that under the Uniform Child Custody Enforcement Act, California has continuing, exclusive jurisdiction over the permanent disposition of C.W.’s custody. The juvenile court abused its discretion. Rusty participated in barely any reunification services, engaged in no sexual abuse counseling, and lives far from local child welfare officials. View "In re C.W." on Justia Law