Help me protect Cameron
Donation protected
Dear my fellow brothers and sisters,
My name is Adrian Raygoza. I am a former Sergeant in the United States Army. I am also the proud single-father of my 8-year-old son, Cameron Raygoza. You may have heard of the story of my son Cameron, if not here it is.
Two and a half years ago, while in his mother’s custody, my son Cameron was trapped, tortured, and severely burned with scorching hot water by his mother’s boyfriend, Brian Magsombol, on August 13th, 2015 in Streamwood, IL. Cameron was hospitalized for several weeks at the Burn unit at Loyola Hospital. The perpetrator, Brian, is now in prison serving a 19-year sentence for the class-X felony of aggravated assault and battery to a minor child. Meanwhile, Cameron’s mother, who deliberately left Cameron in the care of this man, knowing that he had a history of domestic violence and was off his psychotropic medications for his anger/mental health issues, was immediately stripped of custody and Cameron became a ward of the State of Illinois.
Even with me fully ready and willing to take immediate custody of Cameron, I was not permitted to do so right away. The system was not constructed to allow a father to take immediate custody of their child. Rather, Cameron’s placement was initially offered to his maternal grandparents, before they, like his mother, were also found to not harbor a child-safe environment within their home. This lead to a massive, enormously intense, and emotionally-charged custody battle between myself, Cameron’s mother, and the State of Illinois. My challenge for full custody rocked the very core of the system within the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) courts. Only after tremendous preparation, persistence, patience, and prayer was I granted full “sole” custody of Cameron, in May 2016. The standing judge of the DCFS court, who ultimately granted me custody, went on to acknowledge that in her entire time on the bench in Cook County, she never had a father stand before her and battle for their child the way I did.
Following this tremendous victory, a new case for the custody of Cameron was entered in Domestic Family Court, separately in Cook County and from DCFS court. This challenge for custody has been a very stressful, slow-paced ongoing battle for the last two years. Cameron’s mother is attempting to regain full custody through this separate court case, where all the events, facts, and findings of the last custody trial do not and have not equally translated over. Ludicrously, though Cameron’s mother was previously found guilty on counts of child neglect, for failing to protect her child, in the well-documented DCFS court case, this custody battle persists and has taken a vigorous mental and financial toll on all parties involved.
However, I persevere forward and will never back down from this battle for my son. Cameron deserves the very best upbringing with a father and family that will always love him unconditionally and provides him with a safe, healthy, and loving environment. I presently provide the best life for Cameron and do so equally in addition to both working full-time and attending college full-time. I am trying my hardest to not only win this fight but also be the best role-model possible by setting the example for my child to become educated and work hard for his goals.
Sadly, even working full-time, making my payments, and spending very conservatively, the legal fees continue to accumulate at an exponential rate. The case has been depleting my resources, including my life savings, money granted to me for college, and money originally set aside to invest in Cameron’s future. I have spent well over $35K of my own money in this battle. I never expected this battle to be drawn out over 3 years. Especially, after I was awarded sole custody, and the child neglect findings against Cameron’s mother. Yet, this is the unfortunate reality that I face everyday.
In speaking to Cameron, he does not want to return to his mother. He would like to remain with me as we continue to build our future together. I must remain strong and committed to this battle, although at times, it becomes difficult to remain focused due to the financial burden—I must press on for my son. I am fighting tooth and nail to keep my status of sole custody and decision maker of Cameron. Splitting any kind of decisions or custody is not reasonable after Cameron’s mother completely betrayed him when he most needed his mother’s love and more importantly her protection.
I am a devoted father with an unwavering love for my child. I sacrificed my military career and left the Army to ensure I could no longer get deployed and risk leaving my son. I gave up my dwelling in upstate Illinois to move back to Chicago to place myself in a position to originally win custody. I returned to school to ensure that I could provide, career-wise, in the long-term for my son. I wake up every day and work hard, determined to build a future for Cameron and myself.
Cameron WANTS to stay home with me.
I ask that you help me fight, not only for me but for this sweet child that deserves to be in the best hands. Please, help me win this case so that I may get back to building a future for Cameron.
The trial is set for October 11th, 2018.
Please share mine and Cameron’s story, and our Facebook page Keep Cam Safe (https://www.facebook.com/Keep-Cam-Safe-1634608536795424/).
With my sincerest gratitude and appreciation,
Adrian Raygoza
My name is Adrian Raygoza. I am a former Sergeant in the United States Army. I am also the proud single-father of my 8-year-old son, Cameron Raygoza. You may have heard of the story of my son Cameron, if not here it is.
Two and a half years ago, while in his mother’s custody, my son Cameron was trapped, tortured, and severely burned with scorching hot water by his mother’s boyfriend, Brian Magsombol, on August 13th, 2015 in Streamwood, IL. Cameron was hospitalized for several weeks at the Burn unit at Loyola Hospital. The perpetrator, Brian, is now in prison serving a 19-year sentence for the class-X felony of aggravated assault and battery to a minor child. Meanwhile, Cameron’s mother, who deliberately left Cameron in the care of this man, knowing that he had a history of domestic violence and was off his psychotropic medications for his anger/mental health issues, was immediately stripped of custody and Cameron became a ward of the State of Illinois.
Even with me fully ready and willing to take immediate custody of Cameron, I was not permitted to do so right away. The system was not constructed to allow a father to take immediate custody of their child. Rather, Cameron’s placement was initially offered to his maternal grandparents, before they, like his mother, were also found to not harbor a child-safe environment within their home. This lead to a massive, enormously intense, and emotionally-charged custody battle between myself, Cameron’s mother, and the State of Illinois. My challenge for full custody rocked the very core of the system within the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) courts. Only after tremendous preparation, persistence, patience, and prayer was I granted full “sole” custody of Cameron, in May 2016. The standing judge of the DCFS court, who ultimately granted me custody, went on to acknowledge that in her entire time on the bench in Cook County, she never had a father stand before her and battle for their child the way I did.
Following this tremendous victory, a new case for the custody of Cameron was entered in Domestic Family Court, separately in Cook County and from DCFS court. This challenge for custody has been a very stressful, slow-paced ongoing battle for the last two years. Cameron’s mother is attempting to regain full custody through this separate court case, where all the events, facts, and findings of the last custody trial do not and have not equally translated over. Ludicrously, though Cameron’s mother was previously found guilty on counts of child neglect, for failing to protect her child, in the well-documented DCFS court case, this custody battle persists and has taken a vigorous mental and financial toll on all parties involved.
However, I persevere forward and will never back down from this battle for my son. Cameron deserves the very best upbringing with a father and family that will always love him unconditionally and provides him with a safe, healthy, and loving environment. I presently provide the best life for Cameron and do so equally in addition to both working full-time and attending college full-time. I am trying my hardest to not only win this fight but also be the best role-model possible by setting the example for my child to become educated and work hard for his goals.
Sadly, even working full-time, making my payments, and spending very conservatively, the legal fees continue to accumulate at an exponential rate. The case has been depleting my resources, including my life savings, money granted to me for college, and money originally set aside to invest in Cameron’s future. I have spent well over $35K of my own money in this battle. I never expected this battle to be drawn out over 3 years. Especially, after I was awarded sole custody, and the child neglect findings against Cameron’s mother. Yet, this is the unfortunate reality that I face everyday.
In speaking to Cameron, he does not want to return to his mother. He would like to remain with me as we continue to build our future together. I must remain strong and committed to this battle, although at times, it becomes difficult to remain focused due to the financial burden—I must press on for my son. I am fighting tooth and nail to keep my status of sole custody and decision maker of Cameron. Splitting any kind of decisions or custody is not reasonable after Cameron’s mother completely betrayed him when he most needed his mother’s love and more importantly her protection.
I am a devoted father with an unwavering love for my child. I sacrificed my military career and left the Army to ensure I could no longer get deployed and risk leaving my son. I gave up my dwelling in upstate Illinois to move back to Chicago to place myself in a position to originally win custody. I returned to school to ensure that I could provide, career-wise, in the long-term for my son. I wake up every day and work hard, determined to build a future for Cameron and myself.
Cameron WANTS to stay home with me.
I ask that you help me fight, not only for me but for this sweet child that deserves to be in the best hands. Please, help me win this case so that I may get back to building a future for Cameron.
The trial is set for October 11th, 2018.
Please share mine and Cameron’s story, and our Facebook page Keep Cam Safe (https://www.facebook.com/Keep-Cam-Safe-1634608536795424/).
With my sincerest gratitude and appreciation,
Adrian Raygoza
Organizer
Adrian Rivera Raygoza
Organizer
Chicago, IL
