In Re Hiatt

621 N.E.2d 1222, 86 Ohio App. 3d 716, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 1584
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedMarch 16, 1993
DocketNo. CA-541.
StatusPublished
Cited by115 cases

This text of 621 N.E.2d 1222 (In Re Hiatt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Hiatt, 621 N.E.2d 1222, 86 Ohio App. 3d 716, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 1584 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

Harsha, Judge.

William Hiatt appeals from a judgment granting permanent custody of his natural children, Tiffany Hiatt and Amber Hiatt (as well as his stepdaughter, Stephanie Bolar), to the Adams County Children Services Agency (“ACCSA”). 1

Appellant assigns the following error:

“The trial court erred in that no clear and convincing evidence established that permanent custody of Tiffany and Amber Hiatt should be awarded to the Adams County Children’s Services Agency based upon the requirements of Chapter 2151 of the Revised Code.”

ACCSA filed a complaint which claimed that Stephanie Bolar was an abused child and that Tiffany and Amber Hiatt were dependent children. The three children had previously resided with their natural mother, Patti Hiatt, and appellant, who was the natural father of Tiffany and Amber Hiatt and the stepfather of Stephanie Bolar. ACCSA sought permanent custody of the children. Following an adjudicatory hearing on ACCSA’s complaint, the trial court determined that Stephanie Bolar was an abused child and that Tiffany and Amber Hiatt were dependent children. Pending a dispositional hearing, Mary Hiatt, the paternal grandmother of Tiffany and Amber Hiatt, and Helen Merz, *719 paternal aunt of Tiffany and Amber Hiatt, filed requests for custody of Tiffany and Amber.

Subsequently, a dispositional hearing produced the following evidence. 2 Beginning in August 1990, when Stephanie Bolar was thirteen years old, she was sexually abused by appellant on several occasions. Appellant forcibly ejaculated on her, at times when her mother, Patti Hiatt, was also present, and had other sexual contact with Stephanie. Appellant bragged about his activities to members of his family. Stephanie advised other relatives of appellant, including appellant’s mother, Mary Hiatt, and appellant’s sisters, Helen Merz and Brenda Hiatt, of appellant’s sexual abuse. However, neither Patti Hiatt, Mary Hiatt, nor Helen Merz took any action to either protect Stephanie or alert appropriate authorities. Brenda Hiatt did anonymously report the sexual abuse to ACCSA, which eventually sent a caseworker to investigate the charges. The ACCSA caseworker found insufficient evidence to file charges and settled the matter by acquiescing in appellant and Patti Hiatt’s agreement to let Stephanie live with Mary Hiatt temporarily.

Stephanie eventually returned to the family’s trailer and appellant’s sexual abuse of her resumed. On September 14,1991, appellant ejaculated on her when she was wearing a black spandex outfit. Stephanie advised her school counselor of this incident and an ACCSA caseworker took a statement from her. On September 17, 1991, police retrieved Stephanie’s black spandex clothing from appellant and Patti Hiatt’s trailer. ACCSA obtained emergency custody of Stephanie that same day, but Tiffany and Amber remained in the custody of appellant and Patti Hiatt. Subsequent tests performed on Stephanie’s black spandex outfit revealed the presence of semen.

On October 7, 1991, while Stephanie was still in the custody of ACCSA, appellant and Patti Hiatt kidnapped Stephanie and took her to Florida along with Tiffany and Amber. At the time, Tiffany was just starting kindergarten. Prior to reaching Florida, appellant sexually abused Stephanie in an Ashland, Kentucky motel room with Patti Hiatt, Tiffany and Amber all present. Although Mary Hiatt knew that appellant, Patti Hiatt, and the children were in Florida, she did not divulge this information to authorities. On November 6, 1991, appellant and Patti Hiatt were arrested in Florida and were returned with the children to Ohio. Patti Hiatt gave statements to law enforcement officers and ACCSA representatives that admitted appellant’s sexual abuse of Stephanie, Patti Hiatt’s presence during some of the incidents of sexual abuse, and their kidnapping of Stephanie. *720 ACCSA reacquired custody of Stephanie and also obtained emergency custody of Tiffany and Amber.

Although there was no evidence admitted at either the adjudicatory or dispositional hearings indicating that appellant had sexually abused Tiffany or Amber Hiatt, Stephanie testified that she feared that appellant would eventually sexually abuse them. Stephanie further testified that on at least one of the occasions that appellant molested her, the two younger girls opened the door and became visibly upset about it. During supervised visits with Patti Hiatt, Tiffany became moody and Amber was more physically aggressive. Tiffany’s educational level did not improve, according to Helen Merz, during the school year in which appellant and Patti Hiatt pulled her out of kindergarten for a month while they were kidnapping Stephanie.

At the time of the dispositional hearing, appellant was incarcerated on the pending kidnapping and sexual abuse charges, whereas Patti Hiatt was free on bond on the kidnapping charge. ACCSA caseworker supervisor Bobbi Moore testified that the best interests of the children required that the agency be granted permanent custody of them. The predispositional report of investigator Michael Evans also recommended that the trial court grant ACCSA’s request for permanent custody. The guardian ad litem noted in his report that maternal aunt Janice Patrick was the best relative placement choice for Tiffany and Amber. At the conclusion of the dispositional hearing, the trial court rendered a lengthy oral decision granting permanent custody of Stephanie, Tiffany, and Amber to ACCSA. The trial court determined that granting legal custody of any of the children to Janice Patrick, Mary Hiatt, or Helen Merz would not be in the children’s best interest. On August 26, 1992, the trial court entered a judgment granting permanent custody of all three children to ACCSA.

Appellant’s sole assignment of error asserts that the trial court erred in that no clear and convincing evidence established that permanent custody of Tiffany and Amber Hiatt should be awarded to ACCSA. Appellant raises two separate contentions under his assignment of error. Appellant initially argues that the trial court failed to properly apply R.C. 2151.412(G), which provides:

“(G) In the agency’s development of a case plan and the court’s review' of the case plan, the agency and the court shall be guided by the following general priorities:

“(1) A child who is residing with or can be placed with his parents within a reasonable time should remain in their legal custody even if an order of protective supervision is required for a reasonable period of time;

“(2) If both parents of the child have abandoned the child, have relinquished custody of the child, have become incapable of supporting or caring for the child *721 even with reasonable assistance, or have a detrimental effect on the health, safety, and best interest of the child, the child should be placed in the legal custody of a suitable member of the child’s extended family;

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
621 N.E.2d 1222, 86 Ohio App. 3d 716, 1993 Ohio App. LEXIS 1584, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-hiatt-ohioctapp-1993.