Fight Relious Discrimination
Donation protected
Over 11 years ago my husband and I moved from central Utah to southern Utah to be a support for my "step" daughter and try to protect her because we saw frequent signs that she was being neglected and abused by his ex-wife. Over the years our reports to authorities and pleas for help were mostly ignored. When my husband tried to file a protective order, a judge denied it saying that DCFS should handle the matter and he would not change custody with a protective order. in 2009 we finally got custody when the birth mom and her husband were found guilty of abusing our daughter and their other children. Four years later, after partying and stripping in Las Vegas for a couple of years, the birth mom decided she wanted custody back and made up false complaints to start a custody case, causing uncountable emotional upheaval for our daughter, whose life was secure and stable then. After a year and some ten thousand dollars plus, we settled, getting several new provisions meant to protect our daughter from the emotional drama her birth mom creates.
Later in the summer of 2013, our daughter became sexually active while at her birth mom's home, which the birth mom had encouraged her to do during the custody case. She was 15. She came home and without telling us what was going on, caused a scene for quite a long time, pushing my husband and me to feel a need to use physical discipline. Seven hours later, she went to her birth mom's a mile away for a visit without any sign of harm. 30 minutes later, the birth mom called the police and made false reports of abuse to the police, the officer who responded, reported that our daughter had scratches all over her arms and redness to her face. The birth mom's mother is a Department of Human Services caseworker and coached our daughter on what to say. She also had a direct influence on the resulting case investigations. I think it's possible she may have even had a part in blocking past DCFS involvement with her daughter. We were investigated for FLDS connections as much as for abuse. When asked directly, we answered honestly that we were not looking for another wife, that we did not have any FLDS connections and had no plans to go to Colorado City. I told the officer that we knew some people that believe in plural marriage, but they were not FLDS or even related to FLDS.
DCFS filed claims that we had FLDS connections and that the birth mom and grandmother were worried that our daughter were afraid that our daughter would disappear into FLDS, married to an old man and that by keeping our daughter in the birth mom's home, they were protecting her. We had told them about the previous custody case, and our years of efforts to protect our daughter, and they destroyed all that work with a series of wild false accusations, in spite of our efforts to keep our daughter in the LDS church. Knowing the environment they were enforcing our daughter to stay in and being totally broke from all the legal fees, I started a lawsuit to attempt to gain justice and push to get our daughter into a residential treatment center. I had to do it Pro Se, (on my own) because we were so broke from all the legal expenses, that we were forced to apply for public assistance. While our daughter was living with her birth mom, she was encouraged to be sexually active, emotionally abused, physically neglected, exposed to the drug use of her birth mom and locked out at night during winter months. DCFS fought every attempt to get her into residential treatment, claiming that they tested her and she didn't need it and we were just trying to punish her rather than protect her when she was in danger of rape, stds, and teen pregnancy and abuse, and needed to detox from the situation they had kept her in. We were forced to stipulate, or agree to pretend we had been emotionally abusive in order to allow the court to keep jurisdiction so that our daughter could stay in residential treatment after DCFS finally placed her in a treatment center two weeks before. Now DCFS is still alienating our daughter from us, not even allowing us to talk to her or her therapist, claiming it would be emotionally damaging to our daughter while they are allowing the birth mom visits.
If this is what people who live biblical marriage have to deal with, I want to make my lawsuit stick and try to get a ruling that such people can't be lumped into the FLDS box as an excuse for attacking and breaking up families and bringing false criminal charges. The charges against us were dropped after our reputations were just about destroyed. We had to move out of southern Utah broke and ruined from the mess that was dumped on us. While we still have our other kids, we've been losing nearly everything else. We've had two different therapists work with our children and have verified that our kids are not troubled, conflicted, or abused and that they were traumatized by DCFS and police handling. I have consulted with some lawyers who say that we have some very good legal claims, but that the case needs some real work, since I had to start it on my own. I have just a few weeks left to get a real overhaul on the case. Please contribute today and tell your friends. If one religious belief is attacked, then no one's freedom is safe, because everyone has some belief that other's don't agree with. $5,000.00 is just to start the lawyers, they have a lot of work to do. Thank you.
Another thing I hope to accomplish is protecting Parental Rights. In our DCFS "trial" they put on an expert witness who claimed that physical discipline is abuse and causes trauma and distrust in children. Following that testimony, we were forced into the stipulation, without being allowed a word of defense. At that rate, within a very short time, they will be able to attack any family for things as mild as a slight spank to the rear of a misbehaving child or restraining an out of control teen. I feel that this should concern every parent. Without the right to discipline as they see the need, parents might as well not be parents.
Later in the summer of 2013, our daughter became sexually active while at her birth mom's home, which the birth mom had encouraged her to do during the custody case. She was 15. She came home and without telling us what was going on, caused a scene for quite a long time, pushing my husband and me to feel a need to use physical discipline. Seven hours later, she went to her birth mom's a mile away for a visit without any sign of harm. 30 minutes later, the birth mom called the police and made false reports of abuse to the police, the officer who responded, reported that our daughter had scratches all over her arms and redness to her face. The birth mom's mother is a Department of Human Services caseworker and coached our daughter on what to say. She also had a direct influence on the resulting case investigations. I think it's possible she may have even had a part in blocking past DCFS involvement with her daughter. We were investigated for FLDS connections as much as for abuse. When asked directly, we answered honestly that we were not looking for another wife, that we did not have any FLDS connections and had no plans to go to Colorado City. I told the officer that we knew some people that believe in plural marriage, but they were not FLDS or even related to FLDS.
DCFS filed claims that we had FLDS connections and that the birth mom and grandmother were worried that our daughter were afraid that our daughter would disappear into FLDS, married to an old man and that by keeping our daughter in the birth mom's home, they were protecting her. We had told them about the previous custody case, and our years of efforts to protect our daughter, and they destroyed all that work with a series of wild false accusations, in spite of our efforts to keep our daughter in the LDS church. Knowing the environment they were enforcing our daughter to stay in and being totally broke from all the legal fees, I started a lawsuit to attempt to gain justice and push to get our daughter into a residential treatment center. I had to do it Pro Se, (on my own) because we were so broke from all the legal expenses, that we were forced to apply for public assistance. While our daughter was living with her birth mom, she was encouraged to be sexually active, emotionally abused, physically neglected, exposed to the drug use of her birth mom and locked out at night during winter months. DCFS fought every attempt to get her into residential treatment, claiming that they tested her and she didn't need it and we were just trying to punish her rather than protect her when she was in danger of rape, stds, and teen pregnancy and abuse, and needed to detox from the situation they had kept her in. We were forced to stipulate, or agree to pretend we had been emotionally abusive in order to allow the court to keep jurisdiction so that our daughter could stay in residential treatment after DCFS finally placed her in a treatment center two weeks before. Now DCFS is still alienating our daughter from us, not even allowing us to talk to her or her therapist, claiming it would be emotionally damaging to our daughter while they are allowing the birth mom visits.
If this is what people who live biblical marriage have to deal with, I want to make my lawsuit stick and try to get a ruling that such people can't be lumped into the FLDS box as an excuse for attacking and breaking up families and bringing false criminal charges. The charges against us were dropped after our reputations were just about destroyed. We had to move out of southern Utah broke and ruined from the mess that was dumped on us. While we still have our other kids, we've been losing nearly everything else. We've had two different therapists work with our children and have verified that our kids are not troubled, conflicted, or abused and that they were traumatized by DCFS and police handling. I have consulted with some lawyers who say that we have some very good legal claims, but that the case needs some real work, since I had to start it on my own. I have just a few weeks left to get a real overhaul on the case. Please contribute today and tell your friends. If one religious belief is attacked, then no one's freedom is safe, because everyone has some belief that other's don't agree with. $5,000.00 is just to start the lawyers, they have a lot of work to do. Thank you.
Another thing I hope to accomplish is protecting Parental Rights. In our DCFS "trial" they put on an expert witness who claimed that physical discipline is abuse and causes trauma and distrust in children. Following that testimony, we were forced into the stipulation, without being allowed a word of defense. At that rate, within a very short time, they will be able to attack any family for things as mild as a slight spank to the rear of a misbehaving child or restraining an out of control teen. I feel that this should concern every parent. Without the right to discipline as they see the need, parents might as well not be parents.
Organizer
True Colors
Organizer
Payson, UT
