Noncustodial mom jailed for taking kids from abusive father (Dekalb County, Georgia)

Another stupid, incompetent judge to add to the list: TRACY DORFMAN. Basically DOESN'T CARE if the children were abused while in the father's custody. That's "irrelevant." (Yes, "irrelevant" was the adjective used.) The non-custodial mom (splutter, splutter) broke the law by taking them!!!

Yes, the "alleged" abuse is relevant and you know it, judge. It is not generally considered a crime (at least not from a higher ethical standpoint) if you were passing along a street, and noticed a house was on fire. You knock on the door. No answer. So you walk in. Or say you even shattered a window or broke down the door. You see a victim overcome with smoke inhalation. You pull out the victim and seek medical attention. Meanwhile, the fire department and the police arrive. Should you be charged with trespassing and/or vandalism? Absolutely not.

What is wrong with these freaking judges? Are they so blinded by fathers rights ideology that their brains have stopped working? Frankly, I think this one is all miffed because he or she values legal procedure over all else, even if the children's safety or well being was at stake. Especially if changing course would expose previous court corruption and/or incompetence.

I suspect that this mother's preferred course of action would have been to go to court. But that is a total waste of time and money if this is the same judiciary that gave the abusive father custody to begin with. Notice that Mom had tried to go through DSS and the police, and got nowhere. (Which, by the way, is very common. Especially when Daddy has "friends in high places," which many male abusers do. Besides, DSS is infamous for ignoring legitimate claims of abuse. That's why we have so many dead kids.

And though crazy and manipulative parents can sometimes get the kids to lie for them, this is pretty hard to do when none of the kids are real young (these ranged in age from 9 to 14) and there were four of them. So instead, we're going to ignore the pleas of four kids. Watch out, Judge, because increasingly these kids are suing as they become adults.

Besides, if you know how to program a pre-teen or teen to do or say what you like, do let me in on your secret. I'd like to brainwash my son into cleaning his room without nagging.

Notice that in the comments, there is not one word of sympathy for the judge's specious and overly legalistic actions.

Dad is identified as MICAH PARKER.

http://championnewspaper.com/news/articles/1941noncustodial-mother-jailed-missing-children-not-returned-1941.html

Noncustodial mother jailed, missing children not returned

Written By: Andrew Cauthen

8/24/12 Categorized in: Crime, DeKalb News



A woman accused of taking her four children from their custodial father in violation of a court order is in jail.

Melisa Ivey, of Carrollton, Texas, appeared before Magistrate Judge Tracy Dorfman for a warrant application hearing. Ivey’s charge was interstate interference of custody, a felony.

The judge ordered Ivey’s arrest and set a $4,000 signature bond, which would have allowed her to avoid jail, but she was booked on an outstanding warrant for failure to appear in court.

According to Micah Parker of Stone Mountain, his four children, 13-year-old daughter Jordan, and his three sons, Micah Jr., 12, Isaiah, 11, and Caleb, 9, were taken by Ivey June 10. He said he has not seen or heard from them since.

Parker said he and his sons were away from home where they were practicing football that day. He received a call from Kennedy, his ex-wife’s 15-year-old daughter, asking if she could come over to visit Jordan.

Parker and his sons later returned home. When Kennedy, who was living with Ivey, said she was leaving to walk to a friend’s house in the neighborhood, Parker said her told the rest of the children to walk with her, according to a police incident report.

Approximately 10 minutes later when the children did not return, Parker unsuccessfully looked for them. He called the police when he could not find them.

Parker said he received a text message from Ivey.

“I have the kids. They [are] with me per court order for the summer,” stated the message Parker still has on his phone.

Ivey was allowed a two-week visitation with the children, but was required to give Parker a one-week notice, he said. And she was not allowed to take the children out of state.

Daniel Meachum, Ivey’s attorney, presented letters allegedly written by the children stating that they were abused under Parker’s care, wanted to escape with their mother and were enjoying their time in Texas, and particularly a sports camp by former NFL football player Deion Sanders, who is paying Meachum to represent Ivey.

“If you look at the evidence,…these kids are saying that they left with their mother voluntarily,” Meachum said.

“The court has to take into consideration what a child is saying as it relates to the abuse,” Meachum told the judge.

 Dorfman told Meachum that “minors can’t consent” and that testimony and evidence of any alleged abuse was irrelevant to the case she was considering.

“You don’t just ignore a court order, right,” Dorfman said. “You’re trying to justify [Ivey] breaking the law.”

Meachum said he was trying to justify Ivey “keeping her kids based on their telling her the abuse they were receiving.”

Dorfman said that if Ivey “felt that her children were in danger, she needs to come [to court].”

“She just doesn’t make up her own law,” Dorfman said. “That’s not how it works. You don’t just get to violate the law saying, ‘I think I was justified in doing so.’”

Ivey should have filed a motion to modify the custody order, Dorfman said.

“Unfortunately, [Ivey] has not chosen to do that,” Dorfman said. “One parent can’t just take [the children] away.”

Ivey testified that she contacted Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to report alleged abuses by Parker.

Ivey also told the judge that Parker would not allow her to visit the children.

“The decree allows my client to have her kids for two weeks in June,” Meachum said. “She was in rights pursuant to the divorce decree to have her kids” when the DeKalb County Police were looking for the children in June.

Dorfman said, “The lawful visitation period was for two weeks in June. It is now Aug. 16. No matter, what [Ivey] is beyond …the lawful visitation period.”

When Parker was asked what he felt about the hearing’s outcome, he said, “I don’t have my children.”

Kimberly Beard, Parker’s attorney, said she will have to request a court order to get the children back.

An investigator in Texas has not been able to locate the children, not even at the address where Ivey told the court she lived, she said.

“This is going to be long and drawn out,” Beard said.

In a phone call to The Champion, Jermaine Ivey, Melisa’s husband, said that the children chose to leave their father because of alleged abuse they experienced in the home.

“Those kids have been abused,” Jermaine Ivey said. “They went through a lot of stuff.”

When their mother was in Stone Mountain in June, the children “found an opportunity to escape the situation,” he said.

More will come out when the children talk, Jermaine Ivey said.

“The kids have something to say,” he said.

Jermaine Ivey said his wife has reported the allegations to police and the Department of Family and Children Services to no avail.

“He’s got people he knows in the child support system,” Jermaine Ivey said.

Parker “put Melisa on child support before they were divorced” and “used the child support system to keep her locked up,” Jermaine Ivey said, adding that Melisa Ivey has been paying child support.

Parker said the children’s mother is approximately $17,000 behind in the payments.

Comments (3)

#3All eye's are on you!

Said this on 8/24/12 At 11:34 am

There is a saying, "the trap you lay for someone else you will fall in it!" Micah Parker! You must think it is a real compliment when you have been called evil and a monster! You have been able to manipulate the system, but you can't manipulate Almighty God that knows all and sees all! God have mercy on you! I have never seen a human being with so much hated in there heart! WHO HURT YOU MICAH?

#2Nate
Said this on 8/24/12 At 11:33 am

Even though I do not feel that it is right that the mother be in jail i do understand that the judge had a job to do ... but this paper needs to understand that there is another side to this story. it seems that this paper is focused on dragging this woman's name in the mud and this is something that i can not condone

#1 Em
Said this on 8/24/12 At 10:39 am

As a mother, I would have done the same thing to protect my children. Shame on the judge. I pray those children are never returned to him ever.