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Ask Jeb Bush, Florida's Republican governor 5-year-old's testimony argued in controversial custody case By SHANA GRUSKIN Sun-Sentinel Web-posted: 10:13 p.m. Sep. 5, 2000 Whether a 5-year-old Broward County girl in state care can be safely returned to her father was delayed another day as attorneys spent Tuesday arguing about the girl's testimony. After hearing from the girl's therapist, Kathleen Conrad, visiting Judge Daniel True Andrews determined that bringing the child into court to testify, or a private meeting, would traumatize her. That decision created the need for a pretrial hearing. Attorneys for the Department of Children & Families want to use the girl's past statements to her therapist as part of the court record. Attorneys for the girl's father, Paul Scott Abbott, object. They question the reliability of a 5-year-old's statements, as well as Conrad's interpretations of the girl's comments during a year of therapy sessions. The girl has lived at the Children's Home Society's emergency shelter since being removed from her home more than two years ago. At that time, child abuse investigators alleged that Abbott, 43, of Miramar, had failed to protect his daughter from possible abuse from her mother. In additional allegations, Children & Families staffers stated in court records the girl was at risk of sexual and other types of abuse if she remained in her father's care. Abbott is a lay pastor and freelance journalist who has done work for the Sun-Sentinel. He has developed a following of supporters during the past two years, and contends the department has held the girl in a shelter to punish him for speaking out about the case. Linda Abbott, Paul Abbott's ex-wife and the girl's mother, has agreed with the social workers that the girl was at risk of abuse or neglect and consented to placing the girl in foster care.Tuesday's hearing, and in particular the therapist's testimony, gave a glimpse into the life of a little girl who recently has grabbed headlines. Conrad, a licensed clinical social worker for Kids in Distress, testified she has seen the girl two times a week for the past year to deal with behavioral issues. "She's been extremely guarded to the point of being withdrawn," Conrad said of the girl. "(She) still has trouble with inappropriate sexual behavior. She also has difficulty controlling her anger." Conrad also said that on at least two occasions, the girl sexually propositioned other children. "I would say there are caution flags that alert me to behaviors that signify sexual abuse," she said. "I would say (the girl) has either participated in, has seen or been witness to some sort of sexual adult behavior." Brett Rogers, Abbott's attorney, questioned whether Conrad could believe statements the girl made to her. He cited times during the girl's therapy sessions when Conrad noted the girl had lied. "At times, she has stretched the truth," Conrad conceded. She added that, overall, she believed the girl had been more truthful than not over the past year. The hearing over the girl's testimony will continue today. A trial to determine whether the father poses a risk to his daughter is expected to follow. Shana Gruskin can be reached at sgruskin@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6537. http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,35000000000119177,00.html Child abuse trial begins as Miramar father tries to regain custody of daughter By SHANA GRUSKIN Sun-Sentinel Web-posted: 12:33 a.m. Sep. 26, 2000 There were no supportive crowds, no TV cameras, no fanfare at the long-awaited start of Paul Scott Abbott's child abuse trial Monday. nstead, after more than two years of delays, the civil trial began quietly in the Broward County Courthouse with testimony from Abbott's ex-wife, Linda Abbott. The couple's child, a flaxen-haired 5-year-old, was removed from Paul Abbott's home and placed in Children Home Society's emergency shelter more than two years ago. At that time, child abuse investigators alleged that Abbott, 43, of Miramar, had failed to protect his daughter from possible abuse by her mother. In additional allegations, Department of Children and Families staffers stated in court records that the girl was at risk of sexual and other types of abuse if she remained in her father's care. Therapists and child-care workers testified during pretrial motions three weeks ago that the girl acts out sexually, often touching herself in public. She also has propositioned other children. Although Linda Abbott conceded to Children and Families that she needed help parenting the little girl, Paul Abbott has vehemently denied any wrongdoing. His denial has turned into a crusade to get his daughter back. That crusade has inspired followers -- parents of children in the foster care system, self-proclaimed child advocates and friends of Abbott -- who typically jam the courtroom. But on Monday, the crowds were missing, so there were few to hear Linda Abbott sketch out her life and relationship with Paul Abbott and the violence that marked their marriage. "We both lost it, more than once," she said while being cross-examined by Paul Abbott's attorney. Then in 1991, after serving a year in a residential program and more than seven years' probation, Linda Abbott met Paul Abbott. The two met through friends, shared some marijuana and exchanged phone numbers, Linda Abbott testified. They were married four months later. The marriage was marked by violence and distrust, with each accusing the other of wrongdoing. It was into this hostile environment their daughter was born. After the divorce, Paul Abbott gained custody of their daughter, but the couple continued to fight over the girl's diet, her clothes, even her haircuts. Today, lawyers for the department will continue with their case. The trial, in front of visiting Judge Daniel True Andrews, is slated to take the week. Shana Gruskin can be reached at sgruskin@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6537. http://sun-sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,33500000000109107,00.html Every legal motion he files in dependency court, every caustic lawsuit he throws at the state's child welfare department, every fax and electronic mail message he sends to his supporters bespeaks his mission: to get his daughter out of state custody. But whether the towheaded 5-year-old, taken by child abuse investigators more than two years ago, will be returned to him soon remains to be seen. A case hearing this morning in Broward Circuit Court could draw as many as 50 to 100 onlookers, said Eleanor Mendlein, a member of Broward County's Court Watch, a voluntary advocacy group that monitors court cases. That's due in part to Abbott's efforts to publicize the case. Abbott, 43, of Miramar, hopes his latest motion, filed Thursday, will be addressed at the hearing and force the Department of Children & Families to release his daughter. The girl's case is as much a look at parental determination as it is a study in legal maneuverings of the foster care system. A trial over whether the girl should be permanently placed in foster care has yet to be held, although state law requires one to take place within 30 days after a child is removed from home. That has outraged legal experts, who say such a delay can create havoc in a young child's mind. "I just think it's absolutely tragic they didn't have a hearing a long time ago and get it over with once and for all," said Chris Zawisza, director of Nova Southeastern University Law School's Children First project. "Young children cannot tolerate long periods of indefiniteness," she said. "We know from brain research, that kind of lack of structure and nurturing permanently affects the child physiologically and emotionally." Abbott said that spending the past two years in Children's Home Society's emergency shelter has taken its toll on his daughter. "She had been always just an extremely sweet and well-mannered child," he said. "Now, as much as you can think of it for a 5-year-old, she's got a hard edge on her." The girl was taken by child abuse investigators and placed in the emergency shelter in April 1998, following a Children & Families order filed in the courtroom of then-Broward Circuit Judge Kathleen Kearney. Kearney is now head of Children & Families, the state's social services department. State child abuse investigators at first alleged the child's mother had given her a swollen lip and her father had failed to protect her, according to a Children & Families petition filed in dependency court. Such petitions are used as the basis for placing a child in foster care. Since then, state investigators have altered the allegations three times in more than a year. The state's last petition, which was filed in court September 1999 in front of Judge John Luzzo, highlights more serious allegations. Abbott told investigators his ex-wife gave the girl hormones when she was 18 months old, causing her to grow breasts and pubic hair. The child also sustained first-degree burns on her fingertips as well as the swollen lip. Meanwhile, the petition alleges, Abbott repeatedly disrupted his daughter's visits with her mother, harassed people involved in those visits and has an explosive temper. The petition also raises the question of who actually gave the girl the swollen lip. Lastly, the petition states the child is "at substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse" by her father and that "most recently, the child has been exhibiting sexually acting out behavior." New reports from the Department of Children & Families allege the girl has been sexually aggressive with other children in the shelter. "There were several incidents between 1998 and 2000 where (my daughter) was a victim of sexual molestation," Abbott said. That, he said, may have led her to become sexually aggressive, a reaction child welfare experts say is not unusual for young victims of child abuse. The latest development in the case, namely the girl's sexual behavior, has only added fuel to Abbott's fire. "It's gotten to the point now, I literally send out hundreds of faxes and e-mails to local media, national media, people who have been following the case, people with various advocacy groups and religious organizations," said Abbott, a lay pastor and freelance journalist who has worked for the Sun-Sentinel. "We've got prayer chains going literally around the world," Abbott said. He sent one of his motions to the 4th District Court of Appeal, which responded by telling the lower court to settle the matter. He has sued the state and Children & Families' Kearney. He even has subpoenaed the governor for deposition. Abbott is motivated by his belief that the state holds his daughter to punish him for speaking out against the department. Children & Families officials have declined to comment on the case. Monday's hearing, which is supposed to prepare the court for a trial in early September, will be before Judge Daniel True Andrews from Polk County, Abbott said. He is one of nearly a dozen judges who has handled this case. "You will see judges from other circuits when there is, for example, a criminal prosecution going on of a public official," said Bernard Perlmutter of the University of Miami's Children & Youth Law Clinic. "In the context of a juvenile dependency proceeding, this is very, very unusual." Whether today's hearing will address Abbott's latest motion to return his daughter or bring closure to this painful, public case no one can say. But Abbott says, "I'll continue to fight, I'll just keep on fighting until the day she is brought home." Shana Gruskin can be reached at sgruskin@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6537. |
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(Thursday, Sept. 7)
Trial Now to Start Sept. 25, in Case of Broward 5-year-old Illegally Held 2 1/3 Years, as Child Hearsay Motion Considered July 25 2000 State Drags Father through More Manure, |
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