Custodial dad accused of sexually molesting son, who also accused him of sleeping with family court judge who awarded dad sole custody (Covington, Ohio)

It's easy to get lost in this story, and get sidetracked by dad KENNETH LALLEY's efforts to get off the child abuse registry now that his son's sexual abuse allegations have been "unsubstantiated."

But if you read this carefully there is some weird stuff going on here. First, the son is whisked away to a mental hospital (For what? Being unhappy being in an abusive father's care?) where he accuses dad of molesting him--more than 50 times. Kids seldom lie about these things, which makes what happens next particularly interesting.

He also states that his father is sleeping with the family court judge who awarded him custody (!)

Then the "system" kicks in. The case worker refuses to report the allegations regarding the family court judge. In fact, they find the allegations so "far-fetched" that they refuse to investigate!

Far-fetched? Not really. I know of many cases where inappropriate relationships between the custodial father and various persons associated with the case have arisen. The case of Alanna Krause for one.

With additional mental health "treatment" the son eventually "recants" (under pressure?) Why the "recanting" is more believable than the original allegations is never explained. Nor is it pointed out here that the use/abuse of psychological "experts" to bring kids into line with Daddy's denials has become almost commonplace with well-heeled abusers.

And now Daddy is suing the people who originally took the allegations seriously. As if we haven't seen this before too....

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20131028/NEWS0103/310280192

Cleared of abuse, father sues to get off state list

Four children were taken after son's accusation, later recanted; list can keep dad from jobs or volunteering

Oct. 29, 2013

Written by Jim Hannah

COVINGTON — The nightmare for Kenneth Lalley started when a state social worker showed up at his door on a late April 2012 night to take away his children, for whom he had sole custody.

Lalley got his children back the next month after authorities found no truth to an allegation that he sexually molested one of his children – but that didn’t end Lalley’s nightmare.

“This is a single father of four children who for no reason lost his kids for weeks,” said Lalley’s civil attorney, Shane Sidebottom, who advised his client not to speak with reporters. “He had to prove he didn’t do anything wrong ... just to see his kids again.”

Eighteen months later, the burly 51-year-old Union resident still has custody but is fighting to get off a little-known list of people in Kentucky who have been accused of abusing or neglecting children, called the Child Abuse and Neglect Registry, or CAN Registry for short. It is a registry for people who have been accused but not necessarily convicted in court.

Lalley filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year in Covington against Lisa Prewitt, the regional administrator for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, and Geri Purvis, a state social worker, over their handling of his case.

“The purpose of the lawsuit is to send a message to the cabinet they can’t ruin people’s lives like they have done in this case,” Sidebottom said.

The cabinet, whose in-house legal team is representing Prewitt and Purvis, claimed in a written statement that it believes the facts of the case support its social workers and their supervisors.

“Our social workers are highly trained, caring professionals who followed Standard of Practice at all times during this difficult referral,” the statement reads. “We are very supportive of these staff and are confident that court proceedings will demonstrate that their focus, as always, has been to protect children.”

Son makes accusation against father and judge

Troubles started for Lalley when his oldest son checked into a hospital that specializes in mental health disorders and drug and alcohol addictions on April 8, 2012, in Louisville, according to the suit. The son told hospital officials his father sexually molested him.

Purvis, accompanied by a state trooper, showed up at Lalley’s door on April 10. Lalley’s three other children were taken to their maternal grandmother’s home.

The cabinet got Boone Family Court Judge Linda Bramlage to sign an Emergency Court Order, or ECO, authorizing the children to be removed on April 12 – two days after the fact, according to the suit.

One of the problems with the ECO was the affidavit the cabinet used to obtain it contained lies, according to the suit. The cabinet has admitted in court that its employees redacted an allegation from Lalley’s oldest son that Bramlage molested him more than 50 times. The son also claimed his father was also having sex with Bramlage.

“The allegations are that the social worker intentionally withheld critical information from the judge,” Sidebottom said. “In my mind that is no different than lying to the judge.” The oldest son knew Bramlage because she presided over his parents’ divorce and had awarded Lalley sole custody of the children.

The first court hearing held on the allegation Lalley abused his son was April 13 in Boone Family Court. That’s when the allegation that Bramlage also abused the child was revealed in open court.

Bramlage didn’t know she had been accused when she signed the order granting the children to be removed, according to the suit. Bramlage declined to comment. Sidebottom said the allegation against Bramlage was so far-fetched that it was never investigated.

Bramlage was taken off the case. It was taken over by a senior judge who travels around the state relieve crowded dockets and take cases where a conflict exists with the local sitting judge.

The senior judge ordered that all the children, except the oldest son, be returned to Lalley’s sole custody on May 24. The suit states the oldest son remains in a hospital to receive treatment for emotional and dependency problems. He has received psychiatric treatment on at least seven other occasions, according to the suit.

Sidebottom said the son has since recanted the allegations and said he lied because he wanted to live with his mother.

Even after being cleared, the troubles were not over

Despite the court proceedings finding that no sexual abuse or neglect had occurred against the children, the cabinet sent Lalley a letter on June 21, 2012, stating it had substantiated the son’s claims of abuse. The suit claims that is when the cabinet placed Lalley on the CAN Registry.

It’s different than the publicly accessible Kentucky Sex Offender Registry. Only people convicted of certain sex crimes are placed on that list. Someone can land on the CAN Registry if social workers find that person abused or neglected a child.

The CAN Registry isn’t accessible to the general public. Some instances of when this registry is used included background checks for employers at child care centers in their hiring process and background checks for the state’s prospective foster and adoptive parents, according to the cabinet. Volunteer groups that have staff working with children may also use it for background checks.

As long as he is on the list, anyone can stop him from volunteering at his children’s schools or being involved with other youth-related agencies.

“For all practical purposes, it is blocking him from being a complete parent to his kids,” Sidebottom said.

Lalley is still fighting to get off the CAN Registry, Sidebottom said. Individuals placed on the registry can request an administrative hearing.

Lalley has requested that hearing, and Sidebottom said the cabinet has indicated it will not object to
Lalley’s request to be removed from the CAN Registry. A year and a half later, the state has yet to set a hearing date.

Sidebottom said Bramlage was never placed on the CAN Registry.