In re Mia H. CA2/1

BACKGROUND

A. The section 300, subdivisions (b) and (d) petition On October 7, 2013, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) filed a section 300 petition on behalf of Mia and her brother Michael. The petition ultimately was dismissed as to Michael. As amended and sustained on January 29, 2014, the petition alleged under section 300, subdivisions (b) and (d) that in July 2013 Miguel H. (Father) sexually abused an unrelated 15-year-old girl, Allison O. The facts available to the court were as follows. In July 2013, Father, a youth ministry advisor, was alone with Allison, against church rules. He was going to Home Depot to buy supplies for a church project. She asked if she could ride with him, and he allowed her to. On the way, Father pulled Allison’s shirt and bra strap down, exposing the upper portion of her breast, massaged her shoulders, and asked her if it “felt good.” Allison later told DCFS “‘it did not feel right’” and “‘[she] didn’t know what to do.’” Later that month, Father left a church meeting to get coffee for his wife. Allison asked if she could ride along. He again allowed her to do so, contrary to church rules. In the car, Father began touching…