In re S.R. CA4/3

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

I.

THE FAMILY COURT CASE

The parents met in 2013. They never married but moved in together during the mother’s first pregnancy and separated in 2021. The father initiated the family court case in November 2022, by filing a parentage petition seeking custody of the children. The next month, the family court temporarily awarded the mother and father joint legal and physical custody, which granted the father at least 72 hours of parenting time per week. Under this temporary order, the children primarily lived with the mother and saw the father Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the following day and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to Sunday at 9:00 a.m.

2 In January 2023, the family court ordered psychologist Dr. Thea Reinhart to prepare the section 730 report and provide recommendations regarding the permanent custody of the children.1 The report was to contain interviews with the parents, the children, and collateral contacts. Beginning in November 2023, the mother made multiple reports that the father was sexually abusing the daughter. These reports were determined to be inconclusive and/or unsubstantiated. Among other things, the daughter…