Defending CPS and ACS Investigations Involving Allegations of Sexual Abuse

April 28, 2022 By

The Investigation

Defending CPS and ACS Investigations Involving Allegations of Sexual AbuseNumerous individuals are considered mandatory reporters. The individuals considered mandatory reporters include guidance counselors, teachers, nurses, doctors, therapists and police officers. These individuals are required by law to report any suspicion of child abuse to Child Protective Services (CPS) or Association of Child Services (ACS). Any individual can place an anonymous call to CPS or ACS and report activity involving child abuse or child neglect of any type. Almost immediately after these calls, if they are thought to be credible, an investigator is sent to the home where the alleged child abuse of child neglect took place.

False Reports Of Sexual Abuse

ACS and CPS manuals only mention issues involving false child sexual abuse reports. However, child protection investigators and police officers are not trained in the area of false sexual abuse investigations. When sexual abuse allegations are made and they are usually assumed by the investigators to be true. What is not taken into consideration is the dynamics of the relationship between the patents. Also not taken into consideration are the age and susceptibility of the child to false statements which have been placed in the child’s head and rehearsed by one parent against another.

Therapy Problems

In cases involving child abuse CPS and ACS sometimes recommend victims to enter into a sexual abuse treatment program. These programs have two types of therapies. Directive and non-directive play therapy. Play therapy involves a child playing with an anatomically detailed dolls, puppets drawings and sand trays. Unfortunately these types of therapies can be misguided. They can potentially treat a non-sexually abused child as a victim of sexual abuse. This can be the cause of adverse child experiences in children.

What to Do If Accused of Child Sexual Abuse

The first thing an individual should do if accused of child sexual abuse is to hire an attorney to defend these types of allegations. The accused person should not be interviewed without consulting with an attorney who has an expertise in this area of the law.

The Presumption of Guilt

CPS and ACS will presume the allegations children make are true. They believe whatever the child states even if it is impractical. It must be pointed out approximately 95% of all child sexual assault allegations have no medical findings or trauma. The standard in Family Courts is what is in the child’s best interest. It is often found in the child’s best interest to take no chance and even a wrongly accused person should be prevented from having further exposure to the child who was allegedly sexually abused. In many cases Father’s and Step-Fathers are falsely accused of child sexual abuse. Judges are educated to be cautious. The standard isn’t truth or innocence when there are sexual abuse allegations. The standard is what is in the child’s best interest. Judge’s are often concerned about being accused of failure to protect innocent children. Unfortunately this can trample the rights of the accused father.

Conclusion

If there are allegations of improper sexual conduct involving a child, an individual exposed to these allegation must immediately retain an attorney that has an expertise in defending against ACS and CPS investigations of this type.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.

Filed Under: CPS and ACS Investigations Tagged With:

Sexual Abuse Allegations and Custody Issues.

April 24, 2022 By

Custody battles can be very nasty undertakings. Sometimes inappropriate allegations of sexual abuse of a child are made. Even when these allegations are either unfounded or untrue they can create major problems during the custody litigation. The allegations of sexual abuse can be subject to Family Court action, Supreme Court action in divorces and also Criminal Court penalties.

Many of the cases involving allegations of sexual abuse involve children ages from 3 to 7 years old. Children during these ages are easily impressionable. They can become tools for parents in protracted divorces and/or custody cases in the Family Court. Children can be convinced to say virtually anything in these situations. They can be convinced to say things to investigators related to alleged inappropriate sexual activities.

Defending False Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Children

Unfortunately when a person is accused of sexual abuse of an infant there is a presumption guilt. It is difficult on a psychological and practical level to deal with a false allegation of the sexual abuse of a child. In a situation involving these allegations it is extremely important to retain an attorney or law firm who has prior experience in dealing with child protective services and agencies who do the investigation concerning these matters. Unfortunately the first step usually, taken by a court when there are allegations of sexual abuse of a child is to bar that parent from having any unsupervised contact with the child or children. A parent is usually only given supervised visitation, at best, during the entire pendency of the investigation and trial process. Unfortunately this can sometimes go on for years.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.

Filed Under: Custody Tagged With:

The Fathers Parenting time Suspended until he is vaccinated against Covid-19

April 19, 2022 By

The Fathers Parenting time Suspended until he is vaccinated against Covid-19Justice Matthew Cooper sitting in Supreme Court in New York County recently had a case before him involving an issue of parental access for a non-vaccinated Father. There was a pending divorce case. The Mother had custody of the parties child. The Father had supervised parenting time. The Mother insisted the supervisor be vaccinated and he or she would need to submit to a test for each access period with the child to see if the supervisor had Covid-19.

Fathers Parenting Time Suspended Until He Was Vaccinated

Justice Cooper had granted the Mother a temporary restraining order which suspended the Father’s parenting time with the child until he submitted himself to be vaccinated. Justice Cooper rendered the decision based on it was not in the child’s best interest for the child to be with his Father while the Father was unvaccinated. The child at this point was too young to receive a vaccination for Covid-19.

The child’s preschool required any parent participating in pick-ups or drop-offs or all other school activities to be vaccinated. The Father had taken the position that he refused to be vaccinated. Justice Cooper found the Father’s arguments against vaccination did not support the child’s best interest. In the alternative, Justice Cooper offered the Father to submit to regular Covid-19 testing, but the Father refused.

The Mother’s application to suspend the Fathers parental access to the parties child was granted until he complied with Justice Cooper’s temporary restraining order which restrained him from spending time with his child until such time as he was vaccinated.

u>Mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for parents with children is a new issue that has not been previously dealt with in the courts in New York.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.

Filed Under: Parenting Time Tagged With:

Happy Thanksgiving

November 25, 2021 By

Happy Thanksgiving 2021

This Thanksgiving, we are immensely grateful, that with all the changes in our world, we have friends and family with whom we can gather. Let us take time this year to live in gratitude for the bounty we experience all around us.

Filed Under: Fathers Rights

Mother’s Relocation Denied; Fathers Granted Custody

November 9, 2021 By

Mother’s Relocation Denied; Fathers Granted CustodyIn this case a Mother appealed from an Order granting Father’s application to change a prior custody order. The Mother and Father has joint legal custody of the parties child. Mother was the primary residential custodial parent. Father had parenting time with the child.

Mother Seeks to Relocate

Mother brought an application to relocate with the child. She sought to move to West Virginia. She claimed her new husband lived there. Father brought a cross petition requesting he be named as the primary residential custodial parent of the parties child. The Family Court denied Mother’s relocation application. They also granted Father’s request for primary physical custody. The Family Court found the Mother gave little attention to the impact the relocation of the child would have on the child’s relationship with her Father. The court also found there was no evidence supporting her claim the relocation of the child to West Virginia was based on an improved financial circumstance that would exist in West Virginia.

The Appeals Court Decision

The Appeals Court in their decision stated the Family Court’s findings were supported by a sound and substantial basis on the record. The determination by the Family Court judge denying Mothers request to relocate with the child was affirmed. The Appellate Court found the Father could financially support himself and the child. The Court found he maintained a suitable residence to live in with the child. The Court took into consideration the Mother was financially dependant on her present husband. They also noted Mother had previously relocated. The Appeals Court held the Family Court did not make a mistake in awarding the Father primary residential custody of the parties child.

Conclusion

In this case, both the Judge in the Family Court and the Appeals Court agreed the Father was the proper parent to have primary physical custody of the parties child. This case is a good example of a Father asserting his equal rights to have custody of his child.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. has been helping fathers obtain custody of their children for decades.

Filed Under: Fathers Rights, Relocation Tagged With:

Father Given More Time With The Children

November 3, 2021 By

Father Given More Time With The ChildrenIn a case before Judge Jeffrey Sunshine, who sits in Kings County New York, a father brought an application to modify a parenting time agreement. There were two teenage children of this marriage. The parties had joint custody of these children. One child was 13 years old and the other was 17 years old.

Fathers Economically Superior Situation

In this case the Father had a significantly better economic situation. The children desired to spend more time with their father than with there mother. As a result of this Judge Jeffrey Sunshine granted the father’s petition to have residential parenting time changed to two weeks in a row with him and one week with the mother.

The fathers work situation had changed and he was able to spend more time with the children. The father had also remarried. The children had developed a close relationship with his new spouse. The children also appreciated their father was able to provide them with a large home, a pool and resources which allowed them to have pleasant vacations.

The court also found the father and mother who had joint custody had no relationship whatsoever. Therefore they could not continue to have joint custody of the children.

Conclusion

This is an excellent decision with regard to the issue of fathers rights.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel is a fathers rights lawyer who has been helping fathers obtain custody

Filed Under: Fathers Rights Tagged With:

Happy Halloween!

October 29, 2021 By

Happy Halloween

Filed Under: Fathers Rights

Mothers Support Violation Petition Dismissed

October 6, 2021 By

Mothers Support Violation Petition Dismissed In this case a mother brought a support violation case the father in Nassau Family Court before Support Magistrate Sandra Toscano. Mother’s petition alleged Father had violated his obligations to pay child support. She also claimed he did not pay his pro rata share of educational expenses and child care pursuant to a prior court order. Father moved to dismiss mothers application. He claimed she failed to attach a copy of the parties 2008 child support agreement which established he did not owe her any arrears for child support. He also argued that Mother’s petition should be dismissed due to latches (the issue was too old) and equitable distribution (it had already been decided).

The Court’s Reasoning and Decision

Mother claimed the parties 2004 stipulation stated any further agreement had to be endorsed by a court or was considered non-binding. The 2008 agreement which reduced the Fathers child support was not “so-ordered” by a court, and the court held was therefore not binding. Father’s claim based on this agreement had to be dismissed. Support Magistrate Toscano also held the defenses of latches and equitable could not be brought in this proceeding with regard to the issue of child support arrears. However, Magistrate Toscano did dismiss the Mother’s petition for child support, child care expenses and educational expenses because she didn’t comply with due process. Support Magistrate Toscano held that the petition lacked the requisite specificity required to give father due process by affording him the ability to prepare and present an adequate defense. Since Mother’s petition did not have the adequate specificity it was dismissed.

Conclusion

This is a victory by a Father, not on the merits but based on violations of legal procedure by the Mother when she failed to adequately present a petition which met the statutory requirements.

Filed Under: Child Support Tagged With:

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year

December 24, 2020 By

Season's Greetings and Happy New Year

Filed Under: Fathers Rights

Wife’s Application To Set Aside Separation Agreement Denied

February 20, 2020 By

Wife’s Application To Set Aside Separation Agreement DeniedA wife had brought a proceeding in Nassau County which was heard before Court Attorney Referee Marie F. McCormick. The wife presented arguments that the Separation Agreement was not signed before a notary and therefore it was not enforceable. The wife claimed the agreement should be set aside because it was signed under duress. She also claimed the terms of the Separation Agreement were unconscionable.

Testimony At The Hearing

There was testimony that the parties signed and acknowledged the Separation Agreement before a notary public and the notary public’s stamp appeared on the Agreement. The court after listening to testimony found the husband’s testimony to be more credible than that of the wife. Attorney Referee McCormick found the wife’s alleged claim that the agreement was unconscionable was meritless. Referee McCormick found the wife was the person who wanted the written Separation Agreement. Referee McCormick also found neither the procedural nor the substantive aspects of the agreement indicated there was overreaching by the husband or that the terms and conditions of the Separation Agreement were unconscionable.

She inferred it was the wife not the husband who had someone draft the agreement. Then after the agreement was drafted it was presented to the husband to sign. Referee McCormick also found the wife failed to show any grounds to set aside the agreement. She found the agreement valid and held it should be maintained in full force and effect.

schlissel-headshotElliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a divorce lawyer representing men and women throughout the Metropolitan New York area. He can be reached at Elliot@sdnylaw.com or 800-344-6431.

Filed Under: Divorce, Seperation Agreements Tagged With:
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