Cherish Lewis Should Go Free

by Robin Sax

On July 24 2009, Judge Frederick Crow of Scioto County, Ohio, ordered 22-year-old Cherish Lewis, mother of five-year-old Jaelyn Rice, to turn over her child to the girl's father. But Cherish refused. Why? Because Cherish had information from Children’s Services that her daughter had been physically and sexually abused. Children's Services named the father, Stephen Rice, as the alleged perpetrator. For six months, Judge Crow has held Ms. Lewis in contempt of court for not producing the child. To add insult to injury, this judge has ordered Cherish Lewis to remain in custody until she surrenders the girl.

Little Jaelyn is in hiding (not wanting to return to her abusive father). And Cherish, the protective mother? She remains in jail today for trying to keep her daughter safe and away from the abusive father.

Are you confused? So am I. The facts of this case are beyond outrageous:

Evidence of physical and sexual abuse of Jaelyn has been presented to the court in Ohio. Pictures taken by law enforcement immediately following visitation with the father, Rice, depict dozens of bruises, indicating abuse of Jaelyn at different times. Why has this evidence been ignored by the court!? A Children’s Services case worker testified that the father initially said he didn’t know how the little girl sustained the injuries. He later said that the bruises came from an accident the little girl had had while fishing on a pier.

On two occasions, Children’s Services has substantiated the physical and sexual abuse—naming the father as the alleged perpetrator. There is also extensive testimony from Ohio medical experts, Scioto County Children’s Services, a guardian ad litem, and law enforcement validating the abuse allegations.

The little girl disclosed sexual assaults in Oceanside, California, and also in Tampa, Florida, while visiting with her father. Why isn't the court looking into the allegations? Both agencies failed to investigate the allegations of abuse and Oceanside Police stated that the father is a “likeable guy” and has chosen to ignore medical reports and Scioto County Children’s Services substantiation of sexual abuse so no actual charges have been filed against the father. Both departments keep pointing their fingers at the other, not wanting to take the lead in an investigation. Therefore, the father, Stephen Rice, remains free while the mother, Cherish Lewis, is in jail.

Judge Crow has ignored evidence of abuse in two separate hearings and each time ordered Jaelyn back to the father, the alleged offender. Judge Crow then granted custody to the father in February 2008. WHAT!?

At one point during a court hearing, the judge turned it around and suggested that Lewis had a condition called Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy—a type of child abuse in which an attention-seeking parent fabricates or causes symptoms of various medical conditions in the child. This claim was later negated by testimony of a professional clinical counselor who spent time with Lewis.

On April 10, 2009, Ohio's 4th District Court of Appeals overturned the order granting the father custody—which just sent the case back to Crow.

Judge Crow ignored pleas from the mother, Cherish Lewis, to reconsider the evidence of physical and sexual abuse and to hear new evidence of sexual abuse substantiated by Children’s Services, of which Judge Crow had not heard. Crow issued an order that Lewis was to return the child to the father that day. Judge Crow then held Ms. Lewis in contempt of court for not producing Jaelyn. He ordered that Cherish stay in jail until she relinquishes her child. Again, Cherish remains in jail today. Meanwhile, Jessica Lewis (caption photo), Cherish's 19-year-old little sister and Jaelyn's aunt, faces charges of interfering with Rice's custody.

According to court testimony, when a minor, Stephen Rice was alleged to have sexually abused a four-year-old child. He is now twenty-five years old. Rice served in the Marines for two years, but was discharged. He says it was for failing a drug test. Since getting out of the Marines three years ago, Rice has moved twelve times.

There are several other cases on record where Judge Crow has granted an abusive or unfit father custody of the children. What is wrong with this judge!?

Judge Crow clearly has an unfounded bias in this case. During court proceedings, he said Cherish is “overly protective of her child.” I would be "overly protective" too if a judge were ordering me to give over my child to an abuser (even, and especially, if he was the father). The judge accused Cherish of having Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy (defined above) and/or Parental Alienation Syndrome, which is defined as false or unfounded accusations of abuse against a parent—usually the father. But many of the therapists who treated both Jaelyn and Cherish testified in the various hearings that Cherish did not act in a manner consistent with Münchhausen Syndrome by Proxy or Parental Alienation Syndrome.

Why is the judge villainizing the mother in this case and granting custody to an abuser? Lewis has tremendous evidence against Rice to substantiate that he is a sexual predator and also, clearly, has violent tendencies.

You might think that this is a one-in-a million case, where a judge grants an abusive parent custody. But you would be wrong. In a recent article by Kathleen Russell, "Child Abuse: When Family Courts Get it Wrong," Russell argues that many states too often award custody to the abusive parent. She says, according to one conservative estimate, that family courts order more than 58,000 children per year in the U.S. into unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents following divorce or separation. This is an unacceptable statistic!

Many groups, including Action Ohio, Bikers Against Child Abuse, NOW Ohio, PAVE Survivor Justice, The Justice League of Ohio, Kourts for Kids, and many individuals are rallying for Cherish Lewis. They have come together to demand Cherish be released and justice delivered for her and Jaelyn. The groups got together on the Ohio courthouse steps to protest her incarceration following the ruling in July 2009. Unfortunately, Cherish remains in jail today and was not reunited with her daughter for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year's, and missed her little boy’s first birthday. This is a true tragedy.

If you are outraged, voice your protest by visiting http://www.cherishourchildren.net/

If you would like to send a letter of support to Cherish herself, here is the address:

Ms. Cherish Lewis

c/o Scioto County Jail

1025 16 Street

Portsmouth, Ohio 45662

You can find more information about this case at the Web site above, which is dedicated to Cherish Lewis and her daughter—as well as all other abused children who remain helpless, endangered, and denied access to justice.

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