Danielle B., In re

• Decision Date: 01 September 1987
• Docket Number: No. 1066,1066
• Citation: 78 Md.App. 41,552 A.2d 570
• Parties: In re DANIELLE B. & Deon A. ,
• Court: Court of Special Appeals of Maryland

Page 41

78 Md.App. 41

552 A.2d 570

In re DANIELLE B. & Deon A.

No. 1066, Sept. Term, 1987.

Court of Special Appeals of Maryland.

Jan. 20, 1989.

Mitchell Y. Mirviss, Baltimore, for appellant-children.

Donna R. Heller, Asst. Atty. Gen. (J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Atty. Gen., on the brief), Baltimore, for appellant, Baltimore City Dept. of Social Services.

James Henry Montgomery, Jr., Baltimore, for appellee-Mother.

Marianna I. Burt, Asst. Public Defender and Alan H. Murrell, Public Defender, Baltimore, on the brief, for appellee-Fathers.

Argued before BISHOP, ROSALYN B. BELL and JAMES S. GETTY (Retired, Specially Assigned), JJ.

BISHOP, Judge.

I. FACTS

During the afternoon of February 23, 1987, Officer Robert Ward of the Baltimore City Police Department responded to a call from 13 year old Danielle B. who alleged that she was the victim of child abuse. Danielle, who was pregnant and suffering from a venereal disease, met with the officer in the parking lot of a shopping center where she gave him a report. She told the officer that her step-father beat her frequently and that she was afraid to go home. She told Officer Ward that earlier that afternoon her step-father had hit her in the chest and had beaten her around the buttocks with a leather belt; however, the officer, who did not conduct a physical examination, later testified that he did not observe any scars or bruises on Danielle. Officer Ward transported Danielle to a police station and, after further questioning, Danielle revealed that sometime during late November 1986, her step-father placed his hand inside her panties and put "passion" marks on her neck. The officer called the Department of Social Services (the Department) who took custody of Danielle.

The following day, the Department filed a CINA ¹ petition on behalf of Danielle. The petition alleged that she was the victim of physical and sexual abuse. It also stated that the Department had placed Danielle in shelter care. Later that day, an emergency shelter care hearing was conducted by the juvenile master. ² The master ordered that Danielle remain in shelter care pending the outcome of an adjudicatory hearing. She also ordered that the Department interview Deon A., Danielle's eight year old half-brother, and that the Department give Danielle pregnancy counseling.

On February 24, 1987, Deon told the Department that he, too, was physically abused by his step-father and that he had observed his step-father beating Danielle. As a result, the Department placed Deon in shelter care as well. The next day, February 25, 1987, the Department filed a CINA petition on behalf of Deon. An emergency hearing was held that day and the master ordered shelter care continued pending the outcome of an adjudicatory hearing.

An adjudicatory hearing for both children was conducted before a master on four separate days: March 17, 1987; April 2, 1987; April 27, 1987 and May 12, 1987. The Department presented testimony from four witnesses: Officer Ward, Danielle, Deon and Ms. Peggy Shumate, Deon's therapist.

Danielle testified that her step-father had lived with her mother since September of 1986, when they were married. Danielle testified that several incidents of physical and sexual abuse were inflicted upon her from the time of her step-father's arrival until February 23, 1987, the day that she was removed from her home and placed in shelter care. She also testified that on one occasion, when she began cleaning the family's living room and wanted to clean the tables before cleaning the floor, her step-father insisted that she clean the floor first. When she refused, he slapped her face. On another occasion, her step-father wanted a hug and a kiss and when Danielle refused, he threw her to the floor, climbed on top of her, sat on her stomach with his knees pinning her arms to the floor, and slapped her face. Danielle attempted to escape and yell for help, but neither her mother, who was upstairs, nor her step-father's brother, Joe, who was standing nearby, came to her aid. The step-father placed plastic rollers in Danielle's mouth and slapped her face several times to quiet her. Joe told the step-father that he was being too rough and the step-father released Danielle. Danielle told her mother what had happened, but her mother said, "we're even because of what [you've] done".

Danielle testified that when she observed her step-father beat Deon across his back with a leather belt, she started screaming and ran from the room. Her step-father ran after her, caught her, beat her across her legs and side with a belt and forced her to return to the room to watch Deon's beating. On another day, in the presence of her mother, the step-father put Vaseline on Danielle's exposed breasts so he could do a "suction". Danielle did not know what a "suction" was, but she did not want her step-father to perform one again. The next night, when the step-father attempted to do another "suction", Danielle refused and ran to her mother. The stepfather became angry and threw a bottle at Danielle. The bottle did not hit her. She also reported that her step-father took her to a dentist and while in the dentist's office, with several people present, including the dentist, the step-father placed his hands inside her panties. On another occasion, the step-father put "passion" marks on Danielle's neck while in the presence of her mother who did nothing.

Danielle told the master that she became pregnant by Joe, her step-father's brother, who had resided temporarily with Danielle's family for an unknown length of time. She said Joe would frequently awaken her in the middle of the night and have sex with her. Her step-father and mother were usually at home while this occurred, although Danielle admitted that they might not have been aware of Joe's behavior. Danielle admitted that she never told anyone about Joe's sexual relations with her. ³

On February 23, 1987, the day she spoke with Officer Ward, Danielle looked into her mother's purse to get Deon's father's phone number. ⁴ The step-father discovered that Danielle had gone into the purse and became angry. Danielle told the step-father that she "wasn't comfortable being around him" but could not explain to him why. The step-father told Danielle to take off her clothes and he beat her on her side and back with a belt. He also pinched Danielle's chest, which left a mark. Afterwards, Danielle asked her mother if she could buy a pair of stockings and the mother told the step-father to give Danielle ten dollars to make the purchase. Danielle went to the shopping center and called the police and then talked to Officer Ward. Danielle also testified, however, that she lied when she told her aunt that her aunt's father had touched her in a sexually inappropriate way.

Deon testified that incidents of physical abuse were inflicted upon him. On one occasion, the step-father beat Deon on his buttocks with a belt while Deon was wearing nothing but his underwear. The mother was present yet did nothing to stop the beating. On another occasion, Deon received a beating from the step-father which resulted in the need for medical treatment. There were bruises but no bleeding. Danielle observed this beating. Afterwards, the step-father rubbed alcohol onto Deon's bruises. Again, the mother was present but did nothing. Deon was given these beatings because he had taken a watch from another boy at school and because he had taken $15.00 from his step-father's drawer without permission. Deon stated, however, that he took his step-father's money to make up the difference for items he was told to purchase but for which he was not given enough money.

Deon also observed his step-father beating Danielle on several occasions. Deon stopped calling his step-father "Daddy" after Danielle told him not to do so. The step-father gave Deon money for completing household chores. Deon acknowledged that his step-father treated him like a son and that he was good to him.

Ms. Shumate, a family counselor assigned to Deon by the Department following Deon's placement in shelter care, testified that Deon told her that, while naked, he had been beaten by his step-father with an extension cord or a belt and that the step-father later put alcohol on his bruises. Deon also related that he had seen his sister beaten, that she was pregnant and that he had seen his step-father put hair rollers in Danielle's mouth. Ms. Shumate indicated that she believed that any form of physical discipline is an inappropriate method of structuring children's behavior. Ms. Shumate, however, specifically stated that she did not believe that beatings, in and of themselves, were the equivalent of child abuse.

At the conclusion of the adjudicatory hearing, on May 12, 1987, the master recommended that the parents' motion to dismiss the petitions be granted on the grounds that the Department had failed to make a "prima facie case" that the children were in need of assistance. The master concluded that, "Danielle B. was not believable. I didn't believe anything she said." The master also concluded, "I got the impression that both children resent the relationship that the mother has entered into and I feel much of their testimony was fabricated." ⁵ Later that same day, counsel for the children filed, on behalf of both of them, Notice of Exceptions to the master's oral recommendations. One of the exceptions covered the dismissal issue and the second exception covered the master's refusal to recommend continued shelter care. In each, the children asked specifically for de novo review of the master's recommendations. Also on May 12, 1987, following the master's oral recommendations, the Department filed a single Notice of Exception which addressed both the dismissal and shelter care issues. ⁶ The Department specifically asked for "on the record" review of the master's recommendation. On May 13, 1987, the Department filed a Notice of Exceptions which raised...