In re J.W

Filed 3/1/06 In re J.W. CA2/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 977(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 977(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Sherri S. Sobel, Juvenile Court Referee. Affirmed.

Merrill Lee Toole, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, Larry Cory, Assistant County Counsel, and Jacklyn K. Louie, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

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Appellant Eric W. (father) challenges a juvenile court order sustaining the petition filed in December 2004, pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b),[1] and removing minor J.W. from his custody. Because substantial evidence supports the juvenile court's order, we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Detention Report and Section 300 Petition

J.W., born August 1995, came to the attention of the juvenile court on December 22, 2004, when the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) filed a section 300 petition on her behalf. The petition alleged that father repeatedly watched J.W. while she bathed and fondled her, lay on top of her, and kissed her for long periods of time, making the child feel sexually threatened. Despite the child's request that he stop, father continued.[2] J.W. remained in the care of her mother, J.T. (mother).

In the December 22, 2004, detention report, J.W. stated that father had, over a period of time, come into the shower where she was naked, claiming that he had to show her how to properly clean herself and wash sand out of her hair. He would scrub her body, including her genital area. J.W. told father many times that she knew how to shower and understood proper hygiene, and that it embarrassed her that he would come into the shower with her. Father, on the other hand, said that he had come into the shower only once and that he had worn a bathing suit. He denied any sexual intention or arousal. J.W. also stated that she and father would engage in wrestling in which father would throw her on the bed and lay on top of her. He would throw her over his knee and pretend to spank her on the buttocks. Father said that J.W. was in martial arts and he was just trying to demonstrate how to move.

Professionals, including J.W.'s school principal and therapist, reported feeling harassed by father, who demanded to know what J.W. had said about him. He also demanded J.W.'s attention as well as visitation with her even when she did not wish to visit.

J.W.'s parents were not married, but had been together for 11 years. Mother left the home she shared with father and J.W. in April 2004. In September 2004, through arbitration, they agreed that J.W. would live with mother, where she had remained. Mother's boyfriend, S.T.,[3] also lived in the home. The parents were involved in a family law court dispute over custody and visitation.

There had been three referrals generated concerning this family:

(1) September 10, 2004: allegation of emotional abuse and neglect by father. This allegation was determined to be unfounded.

(2) October 27, 2004: allegation of emotional abuse and neglect by father. These allegations were found to be inconclusive.

(3) November 18, 2004: allegation of sexual and physical abuse by father. J.W. said that father had been coming into the shower with her for about the last two years, claiming to show her how to clean herself and shampoo. He would bathe the child's entire body, including her genital area. J.W. was extremely embarrassed by this. She knew how to wash her body and hair. J.W. asked father not to do this anymore, but he continued. According to father, he had come into the shower with J.W. only once. He claimed that he was showing her how to clean and shampoo because she has coarse hair that had debris in it. He denied touching her in a sexual manner or becoming sexually aroused while helping her. J.W. became angry when she heard that father admitted to coming into the shower with her only once.

J.W. said that she was intimidated by father and was upset by his actions. She described him as controlling and having little insight into appropriate physical boundaries between them. He also wanted her to participate in activities that she had little interest in, but she did so just to please him.

Elizabeth Owens (Owens), J.W.'s therapist, said that father's demands for visitation and participation in J.W.'s therapy at that time were harmful to the child's mental state; inclusion in her therapy was thus not appropriate at that time. Owens advised father not to come to J.W.'s therapy sessions without an invitation or appointment. On one occasion, there had been an incident in which father confronted mother and J.W. in the parking lot. He reached through the window to try to touch J.W. on the shoulder, and she yelled â€