On Thursday (April 30, 2020) the Court denied the man’s
motion for leave to appeal an October 2019 decision of the New York State
Supreme Court’s Appellate Division. That
prior decision, “Matter of Lawson O.,” unanimously affirmed a Schuyler County
Family Court order made by Judge Dennis Morris in 2017.
The Schuyler County Department of Social Services (DSS) had
charged the man in Family Court with abuse and neglect of his children
following receipt of a child protective services hotline report in January
2016. According to testimony before the Family Court, the man’s daughter had
been discovered acting out sexually and then disclosed to a family member that
her father had been having oral sexual contact with her.
Following a hearing in 2017, Morris determined that the girl’s
out-of-court statements regarding the alleged sexual abuse were sufficiently
corroborated and that the father had abused his daughter, derivatively abused
her two siblings and neglected all three of his children. Therefore, he entered
an order of protection, directing the father have no contact with the children,
other than supervised visitation and communications reviewed and approved in
advance by DSS, and directing him to enter sex offender treatment.
The father, through attorney Dana Salazar, appealed to the
Appellate Division, alleging that the Family Court’s finding of abuse was not
adequately established by the evidence.
The DSS was represented on appeal by Schuyler County
Attorney Steven Getman. Getman asked the appellate court to uphold the Family
Court findings. Getman argued that that the girl had demonstrated an
“age-inappropriate knowledge of sexual activity” through her behaviors prior to
the disclosure, supporting her description of abuse. He also cited evidence of
prior sexual abuse allegations against the father involving other family members,
and the father’s admissions that he spent approximately eight months in jail
stemming from an earlier sexual abuse charge related to a niece. Getman also
pointed out the father had admitted on the stand to lying to law enforcement
officials, thereby showing a propensity for dishonesty.
The Appellate Division agreed with DSS, finding “a sound and
substantial basis exist[ed] in the record to support Family Court’s finding
that respondent abused the daughter.” Therefore, it upheld the Family Court
order in all respects.
The father, again through Salazar, thereafter moved for
leave to appeal to the New York State Court of Appeals. The DSS, through Getman, opposed the
motion, arguing that the Appellate Division’s decision was consistent with
longstanding precedent.
In Thursday’s decision of the Court of Appeals rejected the
father’s motion without comment, holding simply “Motion for leave to appeal
denied.”
According to Getman, this decision effectively ends the
father’s ability to challenge the Family Court’s abuse and neglect findings.
Neither the Court of Appeals nor the Appellate Division
decision names the father or the children, using pseudonyms to protect the
children’s privacy.
The Schuyler County DSS is the lead civil investigative
agency for cases of alleged child abuse and neglect. The Schuyler County
Attorney is the prosecuting attorney for all county agencies involving civil
cases, including Family Court matters involving abuse and neglect. Both
agencies were assisted in the investigation of the case by members of the
Schuyler County Sheriff’s department. A complete copy of the Appellate
Division’s October decision can be found here: http://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2019/525645.pdf. A copy of the Court of Appeals April order
can be found here (page 6): https://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2020/Apr20/DecisionList043020.pdf.
