Opinion ID: 1903202
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: STATEMENT OF THE FACTS TestimonyFirst Hearing

Text: ¶ 7. S.C.R. and E.K.R. had two children, a girl, born March 2, 1984, and a boy, born August 31, 1989. The couple separated on March 12, 1992, and were involved in divorce proceedings when E.K.R. was tragically killed in an automobile collision which occurred on May 19, 1993. At the time of her death, E.K.R. and the two minor children were residing with her parents, F.W.K. and L.S.K. ¶ 8. At the first hearing in April 1996, F.W.K. was sixty-seven years old and L.S.K. was sixty years old. F.W.K. and L.S.K. had been married forty-one years and raised four children. Both F.W.K. and L.S.K. expressed a desire to have custody of the two minor children but stated they were not necessarily eager to be parents and would prefer to assume the role of grandparents. According to F.W.K., the day he told the children about their mother's death, the children asked him to keep them from their father. ¶ 9. The older child, then twelve years old, expressed a preference to live with F.W.K. and L.S.K. She testified that on the day her mother died, she asked her grandparents to not let her daddy get her. She explained she was afraid of her father because he had mistreated her mother in the past. She related several incidents of spousal abuse which she had witnessed. She also related two incidents when her father hit her because she tried to stop him from hitting her mother. Additionally, she reported several incidents which occurred since her mother's death including S.C.R. calling her a bitch, slapping her and jerking her thumb. She explained visitation was okay at first, but then S.C.R. called her a bitch and referred to L.S.K. as a whore when she asked him why he had treated her mother like that. ¶ 10. The younger child, then six years old, testified he enjoys visiting his father and doing things with him. He recalled no abuse at the hands of his father. When asked if he wanted to live with his father, the younger child nodded his head. The court-appointed expert, William Wiedorn, M.D., noted that at this young age, the child most likely was not thinking in terms of custody but was simply expressing a desire to spend more time with his father. ¶ 11. Members of S.C.R.'s family, including his wife, his sister, and his mother, testified about his relationships with the children. S.C.R.'s wife, then twenty-four years of age, stated she and S.C.R. were married a month an half after E.K.R.'s death. According to his wife, S.C.R. and his children do not argue or fight. She testified, They get along really well unless one of the children speaks with somebody on the other side, and then it is like the flip of the light switch and [the older child] is like a different person. S.C.R.'s sister testified that the older child appeared to get along well with members of S.C.R.'s family. S.C.R.'s sister and mother testified that neither had ever heard S.C.R. curse or threaten his children, and neither had observed him physically disciplining them. ¶ 12. S.C.R., then thirty-seven years old, testified briefly. S.C.R. stated he wanted custody of his children so that he might raise them, show them love, and care for them. He admitted experiencing some difficulty with the older child. According to S.C.R., [The older child] gets a bad attitude and then it changes. It is like turning on the flip of a switch. If everything goes her way, it's good. If she doesn't get what she wants, then she starts showing out. At no point in his testimony did S.C.R. deny the older child's allegations of abuse. ¶ 13. The experts' evaluations of the parties, the children, and recurring allegations of abuse involving the younger child are extensive and are contained in both oral testimony and written documents. S.C.R.'s expert, Dr. Donald Matherne, a licensed clinical psychologist, first saw S.C.R. for an evaluation of whether he was sufficiently disabled for Social Security Disability Income payments. Dr. Matherne noted S.C.R. functions within the low average range of intelligence. He explained that while S.C.R. is not retarded, his low intellectual functioning could be the result of anything from accidental head trauma to a preexisting level of function. Dr. Matherne opined that S.C.R. would continue to function at a low intellectual level. ¶ 14. Some time later Dr. Matherne again met with S.C.R., this time to assess whether S.C.R. was suitable to have visitation with his children during the pendency of the divorce proceedings. According to Dr. Matherne, personality testing indicated S.C.R. is self-assured, confident and dominant, and prefers to interact with others in situations in which he can exercise some degree of control. Dr. Matherne also found S.C.R.'s score on the aggression scale to be in the higher level of the normal range indicating that he may be seen by others as impatient and easily irritated. Dr. Matherne noted S.C.R. had reported that E.K.R. had filed a simple assault charge against him for slapping her and S.C.R. admitted slapping her. ¶ 15. Two court-appointed experts met with the parties and the children and then reported to the court. John Galloway, Ph. D., has a master's degree in social work and a doctorate in sociology. He is licensed in Louisiana as a social worker, performing psychotherapy and counseling. William Wiedorn, M.D., is a medical doctor, board certified in psychiatry. ¶ 16. The experts' first report describes the older child as cooperative and outgoing. Before being asked, the older child volunteered that she did not wish to visit with her father because he hurt her mother and she was afraid he would hurt her, too. The older child stated emphatically that she would prefer to live with her maternal grandparents. The report noted that the grief the older child felt as a consequence of her mother's death was accentuated by prior family discord and acknowledged drug and alcohol abuse. ¶ 17. The younger child was also described as outgoing. According to the report, he did not seem to be aware of the fact that his mother was dead. The younger child had no knowledge of his father and referred to his maternal grandfather as his father. ¶ 18. According to the report, F.W.K. recalled frequently being asked to step in and settle marital disputes between his daughter and S.C.R. According to F.W.K., his daughter frequently complained of being abused, and on more than one occasion he had seen the results of that abuse. L.S.K. stated that E.K.R. had separated from S.C.R. because of physical violence, drug abuse, and adultery. ¶ 19. S.C.R.'s personal presentation during the initial interview was described as arrogant and egotistical. The report states that S.C.R. projected the problems of his marriage onto E.K.R., claiming she could not break away from her parents to devote her attention to him. ¶ 20. The next report submitted by Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn is dated November 1993. According to the report, the older child remained adamant that she did not wish to visit with S.C.R. The report states that she had vivid memories of her father mistreating her mother. The older child became tearful when talking about her mother's death and expressed appreciation for her grandmother taking her to various school activities in which she was involved. The younger child was not able to talk much about his feelings but said that he enjoyed doing things with his father. ¶ 21. In the second report, Dr. Galloway stated that while the children are aware of the tension between their father and grandparents, he was unsure about the source of tension. He did note that F.W.K. and L.S.K. were less negative about S.C.R. than S.C.R. was about them. ¶ 22. Dr. Galloway stated that since meeting S.C.R., he had been uncomfortable with his arrogant, egotistical behavior and condescending approach to dealing with people. Dr. Galloway reported that he confronted S.C.R. about this and S.C.R. responded by speaking more openly, relating how important it is to him to be a good father. Dr. Galloway opined that S.C.R. trusts very few people and that the defenses he throws up are an attempt on his part to keep people from getting to know him. Dr. Galloway also noted that S.C.R. seems like a person who has had difficulty with impulse control. ¶ 23. Dr. Galloway concluded that F.W.K. and L.S.K. are proven parents who are doing a more than an adequate job of taking care of the children. He also concluded that S.C.R. is an evolving parent who is trying to change his life and have some relationship with his children. ¶ 24. On December 15, 1993, the trial court requested that the Department of Human Services of Forrest County (DHS) evaluate the homes of both the father and the grandparents. DHS, in a report filed on May 2, 1994, recommended that the children remain in the home of F.W.K. and L.S.K. DHS concluded that the younger child's allegations of abuse at the hands of the maternal uncle could not be substantiated. The parties eventually agreed there was no evidence of any sexual molestation. ¶ 25. In the first report filed in 1995, Dr. Galloway stated that problems continued concerning S.C.R.'s immaturity and L.S.K.'s opinion that S.C.R. would hurt the children. He also stated neither F.W.K. or L.S.K. wanted to keep S.C.R. from the children, but both were concerned by his prior behavior and what they perceived as recent erratic behavior. ¶ 26. On April 7, 1995, Dr. Matherne reported to S.C.R.'s lawyer that when he first saw S.C.R., S.C.R. had some apparent anger issues but he has demonstrated significant growth since that time. Dr. Matherne also stated the older child, who initially was rather angry and resentful of her father, seemed to have developed a more positive relationship with her father. Dr. Matherne described the younger child as showing evidence of overactivity. Dr. Matherne expressed concern that F.W.K. and L.S.K. do not adequately discipline the younger child. According to Dr. Matherne, the younger child perceived his father as being punitive because he is more of a disciplinarian. In his letter dated April 7, 1995, Dr. Matherne recommended that the children be placed with S.C.R. and granted visitation with F.W.K. and L.S.K. Later, however, Dr. Matherne concluded that the older child should remain with F.W.K. and L.S.K. and that the younger child should be placed with S.C.R. ¶ 27. In 1995, allegations of sexual molestation by the children's maternal uncle emanated from the younger child. Doctors Galloway, Wiedorn and Matherne all met with the younger child concerning these allegations. Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn reported that the younger child could not recall any incidents when his maternal uncle abused him until his sister helped him recall the incidents. The younger child did not appear anxious or depressed, nor did he show any appropriate shyness or anger at what allegedly took place. Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn concluded that the younger child was only reporting what he had been told to say. According to them, this was absolutely not the clinical picture of a child who had been sexually abused. ¶ 28. Dr. Matherne reported directly to the court on August 1, 1995. According to Dr. Matherne, the younger child denied that his older sister instructed him to allege the abuse. Dr. Matherne also stated that the older child denied instructing her younger brother to make these allegations. ¶ 29. In a report dated March 26, 1996, Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn stated that when they began working with this case, everyone involved was working toward reuniting S.C.R. with his children. The report recounted that after the first allegations of abuse were reported, the parties agreed that there was no evidence of any sexual molestation. Later, more allegations of sexual molestation emanated from what was alleged to be the younger child's conversations with his father and with Dr. Matherne. Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn concluded that these allegations were indicative of the type of kind of immature, inappropriate and impulsive behavior of [S.C.R.]. At this time, Doctors Galloway and Wiedorn recommended more structured visitation between S.C.R. and the children and stated that as time progressed it became doubtful that granting S.C.R. custody would be in the best interest of the children. ¶ 30. At trial, Dr. Matherne testified that in his expert opinion there was no evidence to suggest that S.C.R. should be prevented from acting as a parent to his children. However, Dr. Matherne acknowledged that there would be ongoing problems if the older child were placed in S.C.R.'s custody. At this time, Dr. Matherne recommended split custody, the older child remaining with F.W.K. and L.S.K. and the younger child being placed with S.C.R.. ¶ 31. Dr. Galloway testified that while some of the older child's anger toward her father had diminished, it was his opinion that the older child should remain in the custody of F.W.K. and L.S.K., with whom she has formed a close relationship. Dr. Galloway concluded that the younger child should also remain in the custody of F.W.K. and L.S.K. Dr. Galloway further recommended that the children have supervised visitation with S.C.R. Dr. Galloway explained that S.C.R. had been argumentative throughout the course of these proceedings and has continued to make accusations that keep things stirred up. ¶ 32. Dr. Wiedorn also recommended that both children be placed in the custody of the grandparents and have supervised visitation with their father. According to Dr. Wiedorn, the older child's feelings of anger toward her father had been consistent and sincere. However, Dr. Wiedorn opined that the younger child had been programmed to make the allegations of sexual abuse.