Fighting for Wyatt: A Child’s Right to Stability

Hello, my name is Victoria.

This is a request for funds to help us retain a lawyer for a child custody case for my Fiancé.My fiancé and I have had his 10-year-old son living with us for about a year and a half. He came to live with us because his mother begged us to take him.

For the first 10 years of his life, he was neglected—not physically abused, but neglected in critical ways. When he arrived at our home, he had serious behavioral problems and was constantly in trouble at school. These issues date all the way back to kindergarten. He had already been expelled from three or four schools between kindergarten and third grade.

His mother never disciplined him. There was often no food in the house, and when there was, it was always fast food. When he came to live with us at age nine, he didn’t know how to brush his teeth or wash his body properly. He also couldn’t read—he was at a kindergarten/first-grade reading level. He was placed in special education classes due to these deficiencies and couldn’t write properly either. At the time, he was maxed out on three medications to control his behavior, and even then, his mother couldn’t manage him.

Since coming to live with us, everything has changed.

He has attended the same school for third and fourth grade. He has been removed from special education classes because he can now read. We took the time to help him because we knew he could do it—and he did. He now brushes his teeth, bathes, and takes care of himself. Yes, he still has moments, but considering he spent ten years not learning basic life skills, we think he’s come a long way. With the help of doctors, we reduced his medications to just one low-dose prescription. He didn’t need all the others, apparently.

So where are we now? That’s why I’m here.

His mother—although we know it was her, she denies it—called DCFS (Department of Children and Family Services) on our home. Why? Because she wants her child back. Why now? Because he’s changed.

And what happens if he regresses after going back to her? Well, we assume he’d end up back with us again. But that’s not how this should work. We’ve never given up on this child, not even on the hard days. We’ve stayed, and we’ve fought for him.

On Tuesday, May 20th, DCFS visited our home and investigated us for the following allegations:

• Child abuse and neglect

• Leaving our children home alone (10 years old and 15 months old)

• Not feeding them

• Other minor accusations I honestly can’t remember

They inspected our cabinets, checked our running water, examined bedrooms, and found no issues. We explained the situation, and the investigator seemed to understand. She requested that we keep in touch, which we have. I’ve spoken to her more in the past few days than to anyone else.

Then came Thursday. It was Wyatt’s last day of school. We let him go this year and even gave him a shirt to have his friends sign. Around 9:30 AM, the school called my fiancé—his mother was there to check him out for a supposed doctor’s appointment.

Here’s what was wrong with that:

* She didn’t have his insurance card

* We had spoken to her two days before—she said nothing about a doctor’s appointment

* She knew she couldn’t pick him up in the car line, so why not check him out through the office?

* Also in the two years he’s been with us, I’ve Scheduled all of his appointments, she hasn’t once done it.

Thankfully, the school called us. They know the situation and have seen how much Wyatt has changed. Aaron was able to get there in time and bring Wyatt home. We called DCFS again to report what happened. They documented it and advised us to keep Wyatt away from her. If she had gotten him, we likely wouldn’t have him today. She did something similar the last time.

Later that day, I was working from home and had just put our 15-month-old down for a nap around 11:15. His crib is in the living room, right by the back door. This detail is important.

My fiancé and I were sitting under the carport on our laptops. Wyatt was in the office behind us, watching TV. Suddenly, his mother showed up. She walked aggressively down the driveway, came through our gate, and headed straight toward our door—right where our baby was sleeping.

Aaron repeatedly told her Wyatt wasn’t inside. I told her not to open the door, that our baby was sleeping, and warned her I would call the police. She ignored me, slammed open the door, and made a loud noise that shook the bookshelf. She started shouting, “Wyatt! Wyatt! Come here!” over and over.

At that point, I’d had enough. I shoved her back, got inside, and locked the door. I’ve been civil with her up until this moment, despite everything. But this crossed a serious line. She trespassed and tried to forcibly take a child from our property—the child we’ve raised for nearly two years.

And no, there’s no custody agreement—because she willingly gave him to us. He still visits her whenever she chooses to come by, and he talks to her when he wants to. We’ve never kept him from her.

I called 911 and told them she was on our property attempting to take the child. While I was on the phone, Aaron called DCFS, who told us not to let her take him. I was furious, yelling at her for falsely calling DCFS and trying to manipulate the system to get custody.

When the police arrived minutes later, they instructed me to step behind the gate, which I did. We then heard her telling the officer that she hadn’t seen her son in weeks, that he was in danger, and that she was scared for his safety.

When the officer came back to speak with us, we allowed him to check on Wyatt. Wyatt told him he was safe and happy here. I then showed the officer a photo on my phone: a picture of Wyatt and his mother in our backyard just last Sunday—Mother’s Day. I also showed her Facebook post of the two of them at the aquarium that same weekend.

She said she hadn’t seen him in weeks—clearly a lie. She also spoke with him just two days before this happened, after the DCFS visit.

I told the officer she entered our home after I had warned her not to and after I said I’d call the police. He walked down the driveway and told her he could not remove the child, as he was safe and wanted to stay. He also informed her that she was no longer allowed on our property—and if she returned, she would be arrested.

As of today, May 24th, she now claims we’re holding her son hostage and that he’s afraid to talk in front of us. That’s not true. He doesn’t want to talk to her because of what she did. He saw her through the window trying to break into our house, possibly waking his little brother. That upset him. He was also angry that she tried to pull him out of school on his last day.

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This is where we are now. We need help.

We are trying to retain a lawyer, and as you know, that’s expensive. We have multiple people ready to vouch for us. The school is on our side. Everyone who knows the situation knows what’s right for this child.

But we need our village. We need your support to protect this boy.

His mother not only lied to DCFS about us, but also misled them about her own living situation. Wyatt told the caseworker that he doesn’t even have a bed or bedroom at her apartment (a two-bedroom where she lives with her mother). He also said his grandmother smokes in the house all day—which is true. Every time he returns from a visit, he smells like an ashtray. He’s asked her to stop multiples times but she refused. His own mom own mother won’t stand up for him.

Anything helps—positive thoughts, prayers, or donations.

We need to fight for this kid.