Amber Alerts and other Missing Case discussions > Robert Manwell-found

Robert Manwill's mom followed steps in custody case

(1/1)

goinsfl:
08/09/09

The case of 8-year-old Robert Manwill has raised two persistent questions:

® Why did his mother get 30 days in jail, a suspended fine and probation for fracturing the skull of Robert's infant half brother?

® Why was the baby allowed to return to his mother, who was still on probation for harming him?

Robert was found dead on Monday after being missing for more than a week. Boise police say they are investigating his death as a homicide. Robert spent most of his time living with his father in New Plymouth but was visiting his mother in Boise at the time of his disappearance on July 24.

WHY DID MELISSA JENKINS GET THE SENTENCE SHE DID?

In March, Robert's mother, Melissa Jenkins, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor injury to a child after Robert's half brother, Aidan Ehrlick, then 8 months old, suffered a fractured skull in October and was placed in foster care.

Jenkins claimed she hadaccidentally hit the baby's head on a table while burping him.

The penalty for misdemeanor injury to a child is up to $1,000 in fines and 60 days in jail. Jenkins' sentence was less than that: 30 days in jail, $75 in court costs and two years' probation.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Fafa Alidjani, who handled the case, said the sentence was based on an agreement with Jenkins' lawyer, public defender Ann Cosho.

Alidjani said she made the deal because she didn't have forensic evidence to disprove Jenkins' version of the story beyond a reasonable doubt, which she would have had to do in a trial.

"No one else was there to see it," Alidjani said. "My personal opinion of what happened wouldn't have mattered."

Alidjani said the sentence the lawyers negotiated was the best one for the time and circumstance, and seemed the best to get Jenkins back on track as a parent.

"Your hope is that a sentence provides that no one will be harmed in the future," Alidjani said.

WHY WAS THE BABY RETURNED TO HIS MOTHER?

Jenkins and boyfriend Daniel Ehrlick had been working to get Aidan back since Jenkins' sentencing in March.

Carol Carrillo, their friend and neighbor, said the couple was taking court-ordered parenting and anger-management classes, and that Aidan had been back in the home for about two months at the time of Robert's disappearance.

Jenkins and Ehrlick had earned custody of Aidan in stages, as is common in such cases: first with supervised visits away from their home, then supervised visits at the apartment where they lived.

Ehrlick finished his series of classes before Jenkins, so for a time the baby was able to stay overnight, but only if Jenkins stayed somewhere else, Carrillo said.

"She didn't care. Whatever it took to get the kids back. She said that whatever she and Danny had to do, they would do it."

WHAT'S THE STATE'S PROCESS FOR DECIDING CUSTODY CASES?

The Department of Health and Welfare treats every case of suspected child abuse individually, said department spokeswoman Emily Simnitt. But for any report of child abuse from any source, the state takes the same general steps.

"When we get a referral about a child being abused or neglected, we work with law enforcement to determine whether there's imminent danger to the child.

"If we, and law enforcement, come to the conclusion that child safety is at risk, we work with prosecutors and the court to make the determination of whether that child should be put into foster care," Simnitt said.

If a child is taken into state care, the department develops a case plan for that child. That plan might include living with foster parents or with relatives.

"During that time the case is reviewed by the courts. We do try to work toward reunification when it's possible," Simnitt said.

The court also may order parents to take classes, or be evaluated for drug or mental health issues as part of the case plan, said Matt Hyde, who directs the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program, a nonprofit that matches a trained volunteer with every child in foster care.

Many custody cases involving possible child abuse don't go to criminal court and never become public. Even in cases that result in criminal charges, state records involving child custody remain sealed to protect the child.

WHY WAS ROBERT ALLOWED TO VISIT HIS MOTHER'S HOME?

The presence of numerous children in a household naturally complicates custody issues.

In many cases, if one child in a family is abused, all the children in that family are brought into the foster system, Hyde said.

At other times, that doesn't happen, in particular when parents are doing everything the court has told them to do and everything appears to be going well, he added.

"In a case like Jenkins', with both the civil custody case and the criminal case occurring last year, lots of time had passed, and there had been lots of progress. Which is not to defend the actions of the parents," Hyde said.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/newsupdates/story/860183.html

Navigation

[0] Message Index