Father Loses Custody of Children over Religious Belief

An Anderson, Indiana man, Craig Scarberry, was shocked to get the Order from the court following a child custody hearing in which the court found that he had changed his religion from Christianity to agnostic and was thus unfit to have custody of his children. Apparently Judge Thomas Newman felt that the religious preference of a parent stood paramount to the safety of the young children.

The children who are age 4, 6 and 7 years, have all continued their schooling in a Christian based institution and continue to attend church while in the care of Craig Scarberry. However, the children's mother, Christine Porcaro refused to talk to Craig after he expressed doubt as to the veracity of the Christian faith.

The other significant findings made by the court were that the children's mother, Porcaro, left the children at home alone and does not consistently choose to use safety restraints for the children while they are traveling in a car. Of great concern to Craig is that his youngest child has special needs which affect the child's mobility and could result in an injurious fall.

More troubling still is that following the order mother allowed her live-in boyfriend to send messages to Craig gloating about the order and taunting him. The boyfriend, Brandon Galbraith, later violently attacked Craig during a parenting time exchange which resulted in emergency medical care for Craig at a local hospital.

Craig completed a Petition for an Order of Protection but such petition was somehow "lost" by the court or prosecutor. After media inquiries and upon resubmitting the Petition for an Order of Protection one was issued on behalf of Craig. Brandon Galbraith has since been charged by the Madison County Prosecutor for the crime but no Order of Protection has been issued to protect the children from the violent attacker who caused them to scream and cry in terror while their father was beaten.

Consistent with the obligation mandated to me by law I made a report to the Department of Family and Social Services that I believed that the children were Children in Need of Services [CHiNS] based upon the admitted neglect by the mother and that she has a boyfriend living in the household who has exposed the children to the violent attack on their father.

This was not the only time that an Indiana judge has taken custody of children away from a parent for failing to practice a religion approved by the government. In 2005 Marion County Superior Court Judge Cale Bradford found that parents who practiced the religion Wicca, a nature based religion whose adherents are primarily agnostic, were unfit to raise children and ordered the parents to not expose the children to any non-mainstream religions or practices.

So what has happened to religious freedom? The United States Constitution and the Constitution of the State of Indiana both offer protection for freedom of religion and prohibit the establishment of religion by the government. In the case of Cale Bradford he was overturned by the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The freedoms provided for in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution do not exist to allow the citizenry to speak in support of or join with the majority but it is, rather, a founding principle of our constitutional democratic republic that the citizenry, individually, is protected in its right to dissent from the majority. That is to speak out against public policy and have the right not to practice religion or to choose to express beliefs that differ from the majority or government officials.

My initial thought was that Judge Newman is an intolerant religious bigot. I solicited comment from Judge Newman and did receive a return call from Judge Pancol, the son of the Magistrate Pancol who wrote the order approved by Newman. Judge Pancol, who stated he was not familiar with the specifics of the case, assured me that his father would not make a child custody determination based upon a parent's religion. Although I do disagree with his judgment I do respect that he did call and offer and explanation.

We did discuss the statutory language that relates to parents ability to cooperate and agree on legal custody decisions such as education, health care and religious training. However, in this case it does not appear that the parties disagree on the religious training of the children but that the mother is incensed at the father because he is now agnostic.

If the record reveals that Scarberry had, in fact, attempted to change the religious training of the children then the court would be authorized to make a custody determination using that information. But as Scarberry insists that he has continued to maintain the childrens religious training then the court would have overstepped its boundaries.

Newman's order will be appealed to the Indiana Court of Appeals. Any organization or attorney interested in filing an amicus brief in the case should contact me. Mr Scarberry is still receiving counsel on a possible federal lawsuit against the State of Indiana for a violation of his civil rights.

A rally in support of religious tolerance will be held at the Madison County Courthouse on Thursday 16 December 2010 from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. I encourage all parents of minor children who do not want a government official mandating their religious preference to attend. I also call upon people of all religious persuasions and especially Christians who do not believe that a religious bigot like Newman represents them to also come show their support for religious freedom.

The Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates is establishing a fund for Mr Scarberry to help pay for the costs of pursuing an appeal. Any donations received in excess of his actual costs will be used to help preserve the rights of parents to have custody of their children. Donors may make a contribution through the paypal link on the InCRA homepage or by sending a check or money order to InCRA at P.O.B. 374, Lebanon, IN 46052. Please indicate 'Craig Scarberry Fund' on any contribution made through InCRA. Next week donations should be able to be made directly to the fund bank account at any branch location where the account will be maintained.

I leave you with Craig Scarberry in his own words, "I am still in shock over this life shattering order for both my children and I. I was under the impression that the courts were to promote the best interests and needs of the children. I never stood in the way of my children's right to religious freedom and to explore their own truths. But now, a judge has stood in the way of their right to be raised and cared for by two loving parents. I am at a loss and wonder how it is that the constitutional rights, that so many have protected and died for, can be violated and impair families rights to religious freedom."


Stuart Showalter's Political FaceBook page

Subscribe

Indiana Custodial Rights Advocates

©2010 Stuart Showalter, LLC. Permission is granted to all non-commercial entities to reproduce this article in it's entirety with credit given.