Rights terminated without hearing my witnesses and my evidence.

A place for parents who have been through a termination of parental rights. Please network here on ways to reconnect with your children, cope with the trauma of separation, and promote advocacy against this cruel system of family destruction.

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OhioKate
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 29, 2016 12:17 pm

Rights terminated without hearing my witnesses and my evidence.

Postby OhioKate » Wed Jun 29, 2016 3:54 pm

In August 2015, I had decided to move to Ohio. My boyfriend of a year lived in Ohio,and told us that we could live with him and his family on his farm, or if we would rather, stay with them until I found a place to rent where I could accommodate my many animals. 3 cats, 3 small dogs, 6 huskies ( which I raise ), and at that time 5 horses. When my 17 year old daughter found out we were moving to Ohio from West Virginia, she with the help of my 28 year old daughter and two of our neighbors, ran away. She was in my neighbors house and they told me to get off their property. I called the sheriffs department, who told me that she had to come home. By this time it was 10 pm, my elderly mother who was staying with us for a visit, was already upset, and I knew having the police come would just upset her more. I figured let her stay the night and she would come home in the morning.

She never came home, even though she knew that she had an orthodontist appointment and afterwards I had planned to drive 6 hours to take my mother home to Pennsylvania. I knew my daughter was fine, as she had stayed with my neighbors several times before. So the next morning I called, text, and waited for her to come. No one would reply. So my 11 year old, my mother and I left for PA. I returned the next day, getting home in time to go to the prosecutors office to see what could be done. She wasn't in. But the assistant prosecutor handed me a paper to fill out just telling me it was for counseling, only after I asked what it was for. I wasn't worried at that point about counseling. I wanted my daughter home. Later I found out that the sheriffs office was looking for me so I contacted them and I was served with papers to appear in family court. At this point it was 6:30 pm on Friday. ( I forgot to mention that the day she ran away, my other neighbor, who is a 63 year old man asked if she could stay with him, instead of moving. Which I politely said no to). We kept our horses at his farm.

When we went to family court that Monday morning at 9 am, my boyfriend and his father joined me, cause they had driven down to help me move. As we had everything arranged before all this started. I had taken my 11 year old to stay with my boyfriends sister and her children while we moved.

We went to family court, and the judge, seeing through all the lies and accusations that my daughter and my 63 year old neighbor were saying, sided with me. She didn't see any signs of abuse. Just a spoiled 17 year old that didn't want to move her senior year of high school.

We left the courtroom and every one was crying, then my 28 year old daughter started talking to the bailiff along with my 17 year old in another room, where I couldn't hear. I did hear a little, which was about something that had happened to my oldest years prior. I'm pretty sure he gave them advice, which I know he wasn't allowed to do. Then we left, knowing it was going to be an extremely long day, we went to have lunch. The entire time she cried and kept texts. When we got back to finish moving, she made the comment that my oldest was there at our other neighbors and she had her clothes on. Meanwhile my 63 year old neighbor showed up. This time it was about the board I owed for the horses. While he had me distracted my daughter took off, again. Then he left.

This to when I called the sheriffs office, they told me they couldn't come up right away cause there was an accident but they would come later. They never came to my house, they said they went to my neighbors and they said they hadn't seen her. I know they were lying cause the deputy said he spoke with my oldest daughter and she said she hadn't seen her. In fact if my 17 year old was really missing, my oldest would have been hysterical. At a later point, I said this to the sheriff and he agreed with me.

I didn't know what to do, I had given notice to the utilities, my landlord, all my stuff was packed and mostly moved, and my youngest was in Ohio already. So I proceeded to move. I knew where she was, I just couldn't prove it. I kept in constant contact with the authorities, they said they were doing everything they could. It wasn't until I mentioned to the deputy that I was going to call 1-800-the missing that things changed. 10 minutes after I said that DHHR of Barbour County West Virginia called me. They acted all concerned like they were going to help me. Then they started questioning me. Then about 5 minutes after I spoke with DHHR, CPS OF BCWV called me. They told me that my daughter came to them. I have a feeling that the Barbour County sheriffs office was working with my daughters. They were supposed to have tried pinging her cell phone twice and never had any success, but as soon as I hung up from the sheriffs office right before DHHR called, my phone was pinged.

Once again, it was Friday and after 5 pm. Saturday morning I received a lefty from the circuit court for an appeal. It was Wednesday at 1 pm in WV. 5 hours away. So I called Monday and found a lawyer for a family hearing in circuit court. We paid the retainer fee, and walked into the court thinking it was about the appeal. WRONG!!! We were told by the judge that he was dismissing the appeal, but that now CPS was filing charges. This was a total surprise. My lawyer told the judge I was never served papers and none of us had a chance to prepare. He gave us 15 minutes to go to the courts office and get the papers and to prepare. The papers we're charging me with abandonment and failure to protect. CPS had told the judge lies, and had twisted the truth around in their favor. It didn't help that the judge was the same judge that had tried my ex husband for sexually assaulting my oldest daughter 10 years earlier.

By the end of the hearing, the judge ordered that WV CPS go to Ohio and pick up my youngest. I freaked out. I felt like I was going to die. She would be devastated. I was told twice by the bailiff to calm down or I would be arrested and held in contempt. My kids were being taken away from me and I was supposed to be calm. What kind of inhuman people were they? I wasn't allowed to even see my youngest daughter or to tell her what was happening, or explain anything her. They came the next day and took her. She was at the fair with my boyfriend's sister. She lived in in Ohio. She was so excited about living in Ohio on the farm, and starting a new school, which started two days later.

I have to explain something. I was in an abusive marriage. I didn't know when I got married to my ex husband that he was a sex offender. He had sexually assaulted his oldest daughter about 20 yrs earlier. I didn't know about it until after he assaulted my oldest daughter. Even then I only found out through his ex wife and son. I never saw anything legal about it. He was the father of my youngest daughter. He sexual assaulted my oldest daughter New Years Eve 2004. He went to prison for 1 year, but was released in 6 months. While in prison he would contact me mostly through letters. But somehow he knew exactly what I was doing. He still had control over me. He told me that if I ever left him, he would find me and the girls and kill us. He would also go after my mother, and my daughter's dad, and my brother in law, who he didn't get along with. After we had gotten married, he basically made me move away from my home and family. I grew up in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We moved to WV on August of 2004.

When he got out of prison he made me pick him up. The girls went with me. (The judge said I forced them to go. They wanted to go. ) He moved next door until his parole was over then moved back into the house we were living in. He got into a fight with my oldest daughter who ran away with her boyfriend to live. I had no control over my life. I was so scared of him. I feared for all our lives. I wasn't allowed to have friends, I wasn't allowed to work, go anywhere alone. I was trapped. I didn't have anybody to turn to or anywhere to go. We moved to southwestern Pennsylvania near his family once he got off probation. I started raising husky puppies, but he would take the money I'd get as soon as the people would leave. When we lived in SWPA, he sexually assaulted my other daughter, the one that ran away, when she was just 10 years old. That was in the spring of 2009. I never knew until the Pennsylvania State police knocked on our door. They spoke with my daughter and she said nothing happened. So nothing was done.

I finally got disability in September 2009, but he wasn't aware I had finally gotten it. I set up an account and had everything sent to my mother's. I sent money to my oldest daughter to find me a place to go to in West Virginia. I couldn't afford to move back to PA where my family lived 'cause the gas well companies had moved in that area and rent went to $2500 a month. I was living on disability, I couldn't afford that. I actually rented the place she found me two months before I moved cause it was not ready but it was well hidden. It was winter February 10th 2010 when I finally moved. I tried to move a couple times but due to snow storms the roads where impassable. I sent money for a U-haul and two constables to come along with a few of her friends. One of which is the 63 year old neighbor. Along with her friends we had two hours to pack up my belongings and move. We moved to a trailer which wasn't the greatest. When I moved from there to Ohio, it had black mold in it so bad it was making us sick. The landlords never wanted to fix anything. My back door was being held on by the slide lock and duck tape. It was an extremely cold place. The gas heat would go off in the winter constantly. It was also too small.

The judge looked at all the lies that he was told, and my history with my ex, and never allowed me to show that I had moved, been in an abusive marriage, or listen to why I was moving.

I only wanted a better life for my girls. I wanted them to have more and better opportunities than I could provide.

I feel that all the judge did was give a spoiled child what she wanted.
CPS NEVER came to investigate anything. My boyfriend and I met online. That was another strike against me. But his family are kind, generous, church going, God fearing people. My boyfriend is a truck driver and grain farmer, his mom was a registered nurse before she died, his dad had his Masters degree and was a school teacher for close to 30 years. His sister went to college to be a physical therapist but now drives bus for the school and is a softball coach. Her husband is a lieutenant in the local police force and also a softball coach.

I feel it all comes down to money. We've paid out in legal fees $20,000.00. We have been waiting since early March of 2016 for the court to send the papers to my lawyer so we can appeal it to the WV Supreme Court. I've found out since then that if they allow the appeal they will send it back to the local county level again. Only problem, we only have o e judge. He resides over two counties.

Since the termination of my parental rights, I have missed my daughter's graduation from high school, her 18th birthday, her senior prom, my youngest daughter's 12th birthday which she always wanted to go to Hawaii for, Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter not to mention almost an entire year of their lives I'll never get back. I want to get justice for me and my daughter. I want to expose the corruption of the county level CPS. They need to be held accountable for destroy countless lives.

My 11 year old daughter told me that she feels like no one loves her. She misses me so bad. She told me that she had even thought about killing herself, rather than live her life without someone loving her.

Long story short, I've done everything the lawyer told me to do and it still wasn't enough! The GAL, prosecutor and judge had their minds made up a month after this all started. I have written the ACLU twice, because I felt like my rights where violated back at the beginning of this. I got a rejection letter once. The second time was after the termination hearing 'cause my right to present witnesses was denied. I've thought about filing papers against the judge but I'm not sure if it would be a good idea. Any suggestions?

RLS86
Posts: 1
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 4:26 pm

Re: Rights terminated without hearing my witnesses and my evidence.

Postby RLS86 » Wed Jul 06, 2016 6:59 pm

Everytime I hear this type of story it makes me cry non stop.. there should be something we can do about this corruption. This is awful for me and others. I would love to help. Just let me know what I can do. This is terrible that this is happening everywhere.

redhathacker
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:40 pm

Re: Rights terminated without hearing my witnesses and my evidence.

Postby redhathacker » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:48 pm

When is enough enough? I'm afraid these people have to removed by force. Corrupt scum is never ever going to give the power back.

eyes0421
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Nov 03, 2016 2:34 am

Re: Rights terminated without hearing my witnesses and my evidence.

Postby eyes0421 » Tue May 16, 2017 3:08 am

The day CPS took my daughter, was the day that CPS gave me the power to stand up and fight because...I AM INNOCENT. I was accused of neglect based from false alligations and convicted of said neglect by a judge who never gave me the chance to be heard or testify in my defense. None of the character letters were submitted as evidence, and now my court appointed attorney is refusing to advocate for me. That's just a few wrong doings by CPS and our judicial system. I'm running out of time due to the permanency hearing scheduled for July. My daughters have been in foster care for a full 12 months by the time the permanency trial is heard. I need to come up with a better defense, the judge would not allow me to fire or dismiss my court appointed attorney. His excuse was that the department was very busy. I don't know what to do. Please help!


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