Juvenile Officer of Johnson County v. B.C.

897 S.W.2d 146, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 699, 1995 WL 141532
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 4, 1995
DocketNo. WD 49320
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 897 S.W.2d 146 (Juvenile Officer of Johnson County v. B.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Juvenile Officer of Johnson County v. B.C., 897 S.W.2d 146, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 699, 1995 WL 141532 (Mo. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

BERREY, Judge.

B.C., the natural mother, appeals from an order of the trial court taking jurisdiction over her minor daughter, I.M.B., and placing custody of I.M.B. with the Division of Family Services for actual placement at the Show-Me Christian Youth Home.

In the early morning on December 10, 1993, B.C. entered I.M.B.’s bedroom and discovered I.M.B. lying face up on the bed with her night shirt open, “totally exposed and naked.” B.C.’s husband, the natural father of I.M.B., quickly placed his partially erect penis into his jogging pants and stated that things were not as they appeared. B.C. pushed past the natural father to ask I.M.B. what had occurred. I.M.B. initially told B.C. that the natural father touched her and had sex with her. I.M.B. later stated that actual intercourse had not occurred but that the natural father touched her vagina with his penis.

B.C. took I.M.B. to the hospital for examination and instructed the natural father to turn himself into police authorities. The natural father did so, and all three family members provided voluntary statements to the police.

During the police officer’s interview of the father on December 10, 1993, the father admitted, “I made a mistake. I stuck my penis in my daughter.” The father was placed in confinement, and at the evidentiary hearing held on March 3,1994, he denied making this statement.

The handwritten statement of I.M.B. taken on December 10, 1993, stated that her father “took off my underwear & lifted my bra & stuck his penis in my vigina [sic] & then my mom walked in.” Two prior instances of fondling were subsequently disclosed during the police officer’s interview of I.M.B. In addition, I.M.B. revealed that deep penetration did not occur as there was little pain associated with the father’s acts.

Appellant’s handwritten statement of December 10, 1993, stated, “I then asked my daughter if he [the natural father] had had sex with her and she replied ‘Yes.’ My husband then told me it had happened 1 time before and that he knew he needed help and that he would turn himself in to get it.”

Criminal charges were filed against the natural father, but these were dismissed on December 29,1993, for lack of evidence. Apparently, B.C. had recently stated to juvenile officers that she believed intercourse had not occurred as a result of two examinations of I.M.B.: the initial examination was inconclusive due to I.M.B.’s discomfort and non-cooperation during the exam, and the second exam found I.M.B.’s hymen still intact. Contrary to appellant’s earlier statements that she fully explained the meaning of “sexual intercourse” to I.M.B. and that I.M.B. knew the meaning thereof, appellant was now claiming that I.M.B. did not know the true meaning when she stated that her father had [148]*148intercourse with her. I.M.B. was taken into protective custody on December 29, 1993, due to the juvenile officer’s concern that B.C. would not protect I.M.B. upon the father’s release as evidenced by B.C.’s changed position regarding the act of intercourse.

The juvenile officer filed a petition for jurisdiction over and disposition of I.M.B. on January 6, 1994. The petition averred that the court had jurisdiction pursuant to § 211.031.1(l)(b), RSMo Supp.1994, in that:

A. On December 10, 1993 at the family residence in Knob Noster, Missouri the biological father, [ ], had sexual intercourse with the said child.
B. In late October of 1993 or early November of 1993 and while at the family residence in Knob Noster, Missouri the biological father, [ ], sexually abused the said child by fondling her breasts.
C. In September of 1993 and while at the family home in Louisville, Kentucky the biological father, [ ], sexually abused the said child by fondling her breasts.
D. On December 10, 1993 the biological mother, [ ], walked into said child’s bedroom and found the child lying on her bed wearing no underwear, her bra above her breasts, and her night shirt open. She observed [the biological father] in the same room with the said child, with his penis exposed and erect.
E. Prior to and on December 29, 1993, the biological mother, [ ], was aware that [the biological father] admitted to the Knob Noster Police Department that he had sexual intercourse with the said child.
F. As described in the previously stated paragraphs D & E, the biological mother, [ ], knew or should have known that [the biological father] sexually abused the said child and failed to protect the said child in that she now maintains that:
a) [The biological father] did not have sexual intercourse with the said child.
b) is denying and/or changing statements that she made previously to the Knob Noster Police Department which would implicate [the biological father] in the sexual abuse of said child.
c) Refused to testify against [the biological father] in a criminal proceeding.
d) and is supportive of the father’s release from confinement.

An evidentiary hearing was held on March 3, 1994, at which appellant appeared in person and by counsel. After hearing the testimony of appellant, the father, I.M.B., a Knob Noster police officer, and a juvenile officer, and after receiving the voluntary statements of all three family members into evidence without objection, the trial court found the allegations contained in the petition to be true and proven “by the competent evidence presented.” The trial court decreed jurisdiction over the juvenile and ordered custody to be placed with the Division of Family Services for actual placement at the Show-Me Christian Youth Home. The court specifically found placement outside the parental home to be in the best interest of the juvenile “because of the on-going sexual abuse committed on the juvenile while in the parental home.”

Appellant raises two points on appeal. She first claims the trial court lacked jurisdiction over I.M.B. there being no clear and convincing evidence that appellant knew of the father’s abuse or failed to protect the child. Secondly, appellant argues that the order is insufficient because it fails to expressly state that its findings are based on clear and convincing evidence that appellant knew of the abuse or failed to protect I.M.B. from further abuse.

The judgment appealed from is reviewed pursuant to Rule 73.01(c) and Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976). The evidence and all reasonable inferences will be considered in the light most favorable to the trial court’s order. In Interest of 669 S.W.2d 298 (Mo.App.1984).

In a juvenile court hearing, the court first determines if the evidence presented establishes that the child comes under juvenile court jurisdiction. If so, the court proceeds to the dispositional phase and receives evidence regarding the disposition or treatment that should be ordered for the juvenile. In the Interest of D.D.H., 875 S.W.2d 184, 185-86 (Mo.App.1994). Appel[149]

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Bluebook (online)
897 S.W.2d 146, 1995 Mo. App. LEXIS 699, 1995 WL 141532, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/juvenile-officer-of-johnson-county-v-bc-moctapp-1995.