The Court of Appeal affirmed the removal of a teenage father’s 7-year-old daughter from her teenage father’s custody in an unpublished Aug. 4 opinion.
San Bernardino Superior Court had found the minor placed his daughter at risk of physical harm due to his drug abuse and domestic violence, and that he placed the mother at risk of serious emotional damage due to sexual abuse.
The minor father had appealed, arguing the court’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence.
The Court of Appeal disagreed with the father.
The mother had obtained a restraining order against the father in January, 2021, according to the ruling. After the restraining order, the father sent the mother videos of himself masturbating, with their daughter in the video frame, asleep, the ruling said. In one of the videos, the daughter appeared to be awake, the ruling said. The father continued to have shared custody of the minor despite the order and the videos, but was not allowed to have overnight custody.
The mother told the social worker the father was involved in a car crash that left the daughter with a gash above her eyebrow. The daughter told the mother she was not strapped into her car seat.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the videos sent by the father, as well as the restraining order, showed enough evidence that he would harm the child if he retained custody.
County Counsel Tom Bunton and Deputy County Counsel David Guardado represented San Bernardino County.
Joseph Tavano, under appointment, represented the minor.
Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Two, Associate Justice Douglas Miller wrote the opinion, which Presiding Justice Manuel Ramirez and Associate Justice Richard Fields joined.
San Bernardino Superior Judge Steven Mapes presided.
San Bernardino Superior Court number J290756.
Appellate case number E078469.
Read the opinion here.
