The Delaware Court Holds that Child Custody should be Granted to Mother when Father Refuses to Stop Showering with his Daughter (BY: Julie R.)

Case Summary: H.D.E. v. K.L.B., 2013 WL 7020499 Link for opinion: https://a.next.westlaw.com/Document/I74b54bc381e111e39ac8bab74931929c/View/FullText.html?navigationPath=Search%2Fv3%2Fsearch%2Fresults%2Fnavigation%2Fi0ad705200000014455d992939a3b6cee%3FNav%3DCASE%26fragmentIdentifier%3DI74b54bc381e111e39ac8bab74931929c%26startIndex%3D1%26contextData%3D%2528sc.Search%2529%26transitionType%3DSearchItem&listSource=Search&listPageSource=e80538baa093ed9ffd4bacce06cc4e2f&list=CASE&rank=7&grading=na&sessionScopeId=9d60b6a299f8e1e7175a57532e5b76aa&originationContext=Search%20Result&transitionType=SearchItem&contextData=%28sc.Search%29 The Delaware Court held in the case H.D.E. v. K.L.B, 2013 WL 7020499, that a father showering nude with his daughter was grounds for loss of physical placement even when the mother’s current husband has an extensive criminal record and a history of physical abuse toward the mother which was witnessed by the child. The court orders that the current husband must not be allowed any contact with the child. The family court awarded the mother primary placement of the three children. After an incident witnessed by her children in which her current husband physically assaulted her, the mother turned over placement of the children to the father. The current husband also had an extensive criminal record. The Division of Family Services (DFS) reported that the father was co-sleeping on the couch and showering nude with his daughter, A.S. They informed him that he needed to obtain a separate bed for her and discontinue showering with her. He complied with their directive to obtain a bed for her but continued to shower with her. He claimed that the child had been born with a birth defect and required his assistance in the shower to wash her hair and body. A.S. testified that she was capable of washing herself but admitted that she had not told her father this. When discussing showering with her father, A.S. hung her head and covered her face. She appeared embarrassed, ashamed, and distressed over the occurrences. The court included several provisions in their placement order. First, the mother is to be given primary placement of the child but is not to leave the jurisdiction. She must remain where the child is currently flourishing in both school and church, where she can be close to family, and where DFS can maintain supervision. Second, visitation with the father will be terminated at this time so that the child is not emotionally damaged further. Third, the father will have supervised visits with A.S. on Father’s Day and in December beginning in 2014. Fourth, the father will seek professional counseling. Fifth, the mother’s current husband will not have contact with the child. The sixth provision is jurisdictional. Finally, a copy of the court proceedings will be provided to the counselors for the father and the daughter. Although the mother’s current husband had an extensive criminal history and had assaulted her in front of the children, the court found that she would be a better caretaker to the couple’s young daughter because the father had been co-sleeping on the couch and showering nude with his daughter. DFS had even witnessed the new husband in the home while the mother had the child and the mother admitted that he had been with her as recently as ten that morning. The mother proclaimed that she would leave her husband for the best interests of her daughter. The most significant concern in this case was the daughter’s reaction to the events and the results of her psychological testing, which showed that she had been exposed to extended abuse. The father’s refusal to cooperate with the directives of the Division of Family Services left him in a position that allowed the courts and the Division to further investigate and uncover the true extent of the damage he was causing his daughter. The mother’s agreement to disallow contact between her daughter and her abusive husband kept her daughter from becoming a ward of the state.