Conditional parental contact allowed in sex assault case

Jan. 23—Child Protective Court Associate Judge David Barkley on Friday prohibited the biological mother and stepfather of a 17-year-old girl from having contact with the girl.

Barkley conditionally permitted limited contact between the girl and her biological father. Such contact, Barkley stressed, remains conditioned on whether the girl wishes to have contact with her father, as well as on recommendations by the girl's therapists as to whether contact should be maintained or not.

Any contact allowed, Barkley added, will be limited to phone calls or visits twice a week with each lasting no more than 15 minutes. In person visits must be supervised by an official from the facility where the girl is housed or an official from the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services.

Barkley further ruled that the department will maintain temporary conservatorship of the girl and her five siblings until permanent placement can be determined.

The 17-year-old girl's stepfather remains at the Johnson County Jail having been arrested last month on a charge of continuous sexual abuse against the minor.

The girl, during a December outcry of sexual abuse, told investigators that her stepfather sexually abused her on a weekly, sometimes daily basis from the time she was 8 years old, according to an affidavit in support of removal submitted by CPS investigator Veronica Perez.

To protect the victim's identity, the names of the victim, the names of the accused and other family members are being left unpublished.

The mother of the victim, according to court records has six children. Four are the children of the mother and the victim's stepfather. The victim, the oldest of the children, is the child of the mother and another father. A fifth child is the product of the mother and yet another father, according to court records. The whereabouts of the third father remain unknown at this time, court officials said during Friday's hearing.

The victim said her stepfather has to be the father of her baby as she's never had sexual relations with anyone else, according to the affidavit.

The victim said that her stepfather, once he learned she was pregnant, "told her that she needed to come up with a good story on how she got pregnant to tell her mother," according to the affidavit. The victim said she told her mother that she met and eventually had sex with a boy but that the boy subsequently moved away.

The victim said her stepfather stopped sexually abusing her for a short time after her child was born but soon resumed and continued to sexually abuse her through late December.

In the same affidavit, one of the victim's siblings said he was aware of longtime sexual abuse between the stepfather and the victim and had several times witnessed such instances. The sibling informed the victim's mother of those events numerous times but to no avail, according to the affidavit.

The same sibling said he and the other children were initially told that the child was their baby brother, not their nephew.

Perez testified of a Dec. 29 visit to the home of the victim and her family. Trash filled the house, Perez said, and an infestation of roaches crawled around while the kids were eating and playing.

Cleburne Attorney Bill Mason, who represents the stepfather, called the stepfather's father to the stand. The man said he and his wife would be happy to take in four of the children, those born to the victim's mother and the accused.

The man said he finds it hard to believe that his son sexually assaulted the victim and said he does not believe his son needs to be supervised if released from jail but added that he would leave that up to the court.

The man said he would change his opinion should a DNA test determine that his son if the father of the victim's child.

Barkley said the man's testimony raised concerns precluding for now the possibility of placing any of the children in his and his wife's care.

Desaray Muma, attorney for the victim's biological father, chided CPS workers for, in Muma's opinion, their failure to take reasonable steps to locate the victim's father.

"Too busy to do a Google search?" Muma asked at one point.

The victim's father said she was the result of a "one night stand thing" between he and her mother rather than a long-term relationship.

The biological father said he was going through grief and hard times when his daughter was born and that he thought he had signed away his rights to her other than paying child support.

The man said that his daughter and her mother disappeared for a time and that he has had infrequent contact with his daughter throughout her life.

The man said his daughter found him on social media and contacted him last month after she and her siblings were removed from her mother and stepfather's home. The man said he had no idea that his daughter had had a child until that point.

The man said he now has other children, runs his own business and would be happy to take his daughter and her child in.

"I'd love to see my daughter, give her a hug and spend time with her," the man testified. "I want her to know that she's not alone. But all this comes down to what [my daughter] wants. She's had a lot thrust on her. I just want to put her and her son in the most advantageous place for them."

CPS will explore the suitability of placing the victim with her biological father in due time, Barkley said, as well as placement options for the remaining children.