In re D.G. CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

S.G. (father) appeals from the juvenile court’s jurisdictional findings and dispositional orders awarding S.G. (mother)1 sole physical custody of their children D.G. and L.G. Father argues the trial court’s findings were not supported by substantial evidence. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Father and mother were married from 2008 to 2015; D.G. was born in 2010, and L.G. was born in 2013. Father filed for divorce in 2015, the divorce was finalized in 2017, and family law custody proceedings have recurred since then. As of 2019, father had primary physical custody of D.G. and L.G.

I. Referral

On December 7, 2023, the Department of Children and Family Services (Department) received a hotline referral reporting that D.G. and L.G. had been abused by both father and their paternal grandmother, who lives with father. The report indicated father had placed D.G. in a chokehold in a store parking lot, slapped him, threatened to kill him, and kept a firearm in the house. The report also referred to several other incidents, some of which involved the paternal grandmother. A Department case worker and a police officer interviewed father, D.G., and L.G. the same…