In re Sabrina T.
Filed 3/15/06 In re Sabrina T. 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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
| In re SABRINA T., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. | B184389 (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. CK59632) |
| LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. EUGENIA T., Defendant and Appellant. |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County.
Margaret S. Henry, Judge. Affirmed.
Aida Aslanian, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.
Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, Larry Cory, Assistant County Counsel, Frank J. DaVanzo, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.
___________________________________________________
Eugenia T. challenges the jurisdictional findings of the dependency court with respect to her daughter Sabrina. Eugenia's husband is a registered sex offender who molested a young female family member. Eugenia believes that her husband is innocent of any wrongdoing, even though he pleaded no contest to child molestation charges. Eugenia allowed her husband to have daily contact with Sabrina after his release from jail. Substantial evidence supports the dependency court's findings that Sabrina faces a substantial risk of physical and emotional harm sufficient to warrant the exercise of dependency jurisdiction in this case.
FACTS
A dependency petition was filed in June 2005 by the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) regarding the family of Francisco Javier T. (Father), Eugenia T. (Mother), and their daughter Sabrina, who was born in 1997. The petition alleges that Father sexually abused Mother's younger sister, Theresa, leading to his arrest in 2004. Father pleaded no contest to charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14. He is a registered sex offender. The petition alleges that Mother knows that Father sexually abused Theresa; nevertheless, Mother continues to allow Father to have daily contact with and unlimited access to Sabrina. Mother is thereby failing to protect Sabrina from a risk of physical and emotional harm, and sexual abuse.
The DCFS detention report states that Father was jailed for child molestation after admitting his wrongdoing. The caseworker interviewed Mother and Sabrina. During the interview, Mother was unsure if she believed that the molestations ever happened. Sabrina denied being abused. Sabrina and Mother visited Father daily, and spent nights at his home. Mother disclosed that she was in the process of moving in with Father. Father was complying with the terms of his probation, which prevent him from having contact with Theresa. DCFS detained Sabrina from Father's custody, because he poses a risk to her. She was allowed to remain with Mother, so long as Mother maintains a separate residence from Father.
A sheriff's report accompanies the DCFS detention report. Theresa advised the deputies that Father molested her 10 times between 1997 (when she was seven years old) and 2004. During the incidents, Father placed a blanket over Theresa while they were watching television. Under the blanket, Father placed Theresa's hand on his naked, erect penis and placed his hand on her vagina, between her pants and her underwear, and began to rub her private parts. When Theresa tried to pull her hand away from Father's penis, he prevented her from doing so. He also tried to kiss her. Theresa did not tell anyone about these incidents because Father instructed her to be quiet and she was frightened. In 2003, Father grabbed Theresa during an outing at a swim park, and pressed his erect penis against her buttocks. She struggled to free herself, but Father would not let her go. In 2004, Father rubbed the side of Theresa's leg as they drove home from a family dinner. When a school teacher observed that Theresa seemed upset, she disclosed the abuse to him. The teacher made a child abuse report to the sheriff's department. Once informed of Father's behavior, Mother immediately left the family home with Sabrina, promising to keep Sabrina away from Father.
Initially, Father denied that he touched Theresa inappropriately, characterizing any contact with Theresa as being accidental. Later, during a police investigation, Father allowed that he may have touched Theresa, â€
