In re I.G.

Filed 6/14/06 In re I.G. CA4/2

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 977.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

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

APPEAL from the Superior Court of San Bernardino County. Deborah Daniel, Temporary Judge. (Pursuant to Cal. Const., art. VI, § 21.) Affirmed.

Janette Freeman Cochran, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Ronald D. Reitz, County Counsel, and Dawn Stafford, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Konrad S. Lee, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Minor.

1. Introduction

Defendant and appellant Jose G. (father) appeals after the juvenile court made jurisdictional and dispositional orders finding his daughter, I.G., a dependent of the juvenile court. We affirm.

2. Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff and respondent San Bernardino County Department of Children's Services (DCS), filed a dependency petition on March 22, 2005, alleging that father had failed to protect the child, 13-year-old I.G., from physical and emotional abuse by his wife, the child's stepmother. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (b).) The petition further alleged that the child was in danger of serious emotional damage because father had been unwilling or unable to protect the child from abuse, and she had therefore attempted suicide on at least two occasions. (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 300, subd. (c).)

The child reported that she had had ongoing problems with her father for several years, and with her stepmother for about one year. Most recently, her stepmother had become angry when the child did not sweep the floor in the exact manner the stepmother wanted. The stepmother grabbed her by the arm; the child pushed her away. The stepmother pulled her by the hair, and the child hit her stepmother in the face. The child was pushed to the floor with her stepmother on top; the child kicked and struggled to get her off. Her stepmother grabbed her head and pushed it into a wall, and hit the child in the stomach three times. Police were called and the child was transported to a psychiatric hospital.

The child told the social worker that, a month earlier, her father had become angry with her for speaking to him in English instead of Spanish. He punched her in the mouth, making her lip bleed. A week later, father had again slapped her in the face, this time because she had been in trouble at school for writing notes. She ran away and went to her friend's house. The friend's mother called police, and the child was returned home. The child reported that for the next three days she was kept home from school. She was not allowed to shower or change her clothes, and she was made to sleep on the floor with only two sheets.

The child reported that her father knew about the problems between her and the stepmother, but he blamed the child for the problems and did nothing to protect her. The stepmother also calls her names such as, â€