In the Interest of M. O.

The mother of fraternal twins' was deceased, their father was unknown and their aunt and uncle had lost both physical and legal custody of them.

Thank you for sharing!

Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

The aunt and uncle of M.O. and M.O., minor children, appeal from an order of the juvenile court finding that M. O. and M. O. were deprived and continuing custody of those children with the Paulding County Department of Family and Children Services “the Department”. Specifically, the aunt and uncle argue that there was insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court’s determination that the children were deprived, within the meaning of OCGA § 15-11-2 8. Discerning no error, we affirm. On appeal from a deprivation order, we review a juvenile court’s finding of deprivation in the light most favorable to the juvenile court’s judgment to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found by clear and convincing evidence that the children were deprived. This Court neither weighs evidence nor determines the credibility of witnesses; rather, we defer to the trial court’s fact-finding and affirm unless the appellate standard is not met. Punctuation omitted. In the Interest of J. A. 1 So viewed, the record shows that M. O. male and M. O. female are fraternal twins, born in November 1999 to a single mother.2 The aunt and uncle took custody of the twins following their mother’s death, but there is no evidence in the record showing that the aunt and uncle were ever more than physical custodians of the children i.e., there is no evidence of a court order granting them either legal guardianship or even legal custody of the twins.

The Department became involved with the family in early 2008.3 At that time, the aunt and uncle reported that, since coming to live with them, the twins had been acting out sexually and harming themselves physically. The Department recommended that the aunt and uncle take certain actions, including obtaining counseling for the twins. Instead, choosing to believe that the children were the victims of a voodoo curse, the aunt and uncle returned with the twins to their native Nigeria, where they had a priest pray over them.

In the Interest of M. O.

The mother of fraternal twins' was deceased, their father was unknown and their aunt and uncle had lost both physical and legal custody of them.

Share with Email

Thank you for sharing!

Trending Stories

More From ALM

Subscribe to Daily Report