In re Ashley C. CA2/2

FACTS

Mother and Father lived together when their first child was born and they married in 1997. They have four children: Ashley (born in 1995); Jaime Jr. (1999); and twin boys R. and R. (2002). The children were detained in March 2012, when the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) deemed them to be at “high risk” due to ongoing domestic violence and physical and emotional abuse. In interviews, family members described Father‟s behavior. Ashley cited Father‟s verbal abuse of his children (which included put-downs, name calling and profanity) and his physical abuse of Mother. In July 2011, Father pulled Mother‟s hair and choked her with his hands. In September 2011, Mother moved with the children to an apartment, but Father comes there, tries to enter, and harasses and demeans Mother. Mother and Ashley stated that Father abuses cocaine and Mother indicated that Father is a registered sex offender. Father still comes to Mother‟s apartment several times per week to take the twins to school. In 2010 and February 2012, Ashley was hospitalized after slashing her wrists, triggered by “fights with her father.” She reported being raped in 2010 by a gang member and a recent…