Albany, NY- The New York State Supreme Court’s Appellate Division issued a decision on Thursday (October 19, 2017) largely upholding a Schuyler County Family Court order that found two local children to be neglected, abused, derivatively neglected and/or derivatively abused. The Appellate Division further held that that the Family Court should have granted the County Attorney’s application to adjudicate one child to be severely abused at the hands of her father.
According to Thursday’s decision:
The children were at the caretaker's residence when, in March 2015, the daughter suffered a spiral fracture of her left tibia. The children were again with the caretaker when, in May 2015, the daughter was found to have severe injuries. She was diagnosed with, among other things, a subdural hematoma and bilateral retinal hemorrhages that required hospitalization. Physicians left no doubt that these injuries had the potential to be mortal and that the accounts given by the caretaker and the father did not explain how they were inflicted.
As a result of those incidents, the children were taken into foster care. The Schuyler County Department of Social Services filed petitions against the father, the mother and the caretaker in Family Court, alleging that the children had been severely abused, abused and/or neglected.
The “extensive and damning proof” was enough to satisfy the County’s burden of demonstrating that the father and the caretaker either inflicted nonaccidental injuries upon the daughter or allowed them to occur, that all three respondents placed one or both children in actual or imminent danger of physical, emotional or mental impairment from March 2015 onward and that various "acts or omissions" of each "evince[d] such flawed parental judgment as to place any child in their care at risk."
The mother had reason to be concerned about the daughter's care, but limited her response to telling the father about her concerns and did not seek medical attention for the injuries herself.
In May 2016, Family Court Judge Dennis Morris partially granted the County’s applications to adjudicate the subject children to be neglected, abused, derivatively neglected and/or derivatively abused.
The Family Court should have found the daughter to be severely abused at the hands of the father, as requested by the County at the hearing, in that there was clear and convincing evidence to support a finding that the father acted with a disregard for human life that resulted in serious injury to the daughter.
The Family Court case was prosecuted by the Office of Schuyler County Attorney Steven Getman. The appeal was argued for that office by Assistant County Attorney Kristin Hazlitt.
The father was represented on appeal by Assistant Public Defender Frederick Cerio. Attorney Michelle I. Rosien represented the mother. Attorney Sandra Colatosti represented the caretaker. Attorney Pamela Doyle Gee represented the children.
The respondents have thirty days to seek leave to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals to attempt to overturn the latest decision.
According to Getman, the children remain in foster care at this time.
