In re C.O. CA4/3

DISCUSSION

A. Background: (1) Detention— A Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (b) juvenile dependency petition was filed on August 22, 2013 with respect to C.O., then age 8, and L.P., then age 16. It alleged that, five days earlier, mother had been beaten by her live-in boyfriend, a man she knew to be a registered sex offender, in the presence of C.O.

2 Mother purportedly told L.P. to take C.O. away before he could be interviewed by the police, but L.P. failed to do so. Mother then cursed at him and blamed him for the arrest of her boyfriend. The petition further alleged that the boyfriend previously had caused C.O. to sustain a bloody nose and that mother had told C.O. not to report the matter. It also alleged that the boyfriend smoked “weed” and drank alcohol in front of C.O. and that mother herself had a substance abuse history. In addition, it noted mother had an arrest record for using controlled substances, receiving stolen property, transporting illegal aliens, and reckless driving. C.O. and L.P. have different fathers, both of whom are in Mexico. The August 22, 2013 detention report stated that mother was taken to the hospital as the result of the…