E.S. VS. H.A.
A-3230-14T2/A-3256-14T2(CONSOLIDATED)
The parties' final judgment of divorce left undecided issues of custody and parenting time regarding their four-year old son. DYFS subsequently substantiated defendant-father for child abuse. The Family Part judge concluded that finding was not conclusive for purposes of determining whether parenting time with defendant was in the child's best interest, and, so, he held a plenary trial to determine whether defendant had sexually abused his son and whether and under what circumstances defendant could exercise parenting time.
Following months of testimony, the judge concluded by clear and convincing evidence defendant had abused the child, awarded custody to plaintiff-mother and denied defendant any parenting time. Accepting the testimony of the court's expert psychologist, the judge conditioned any future application for parenting time upon defendant's admission of "wrongdoing," a psycho-sexual evaluation and completion of individual therapy.
The court concluded conditioning any future application for parenting time upon an admission of wrongdoing violated defendant's right against self-incrimination. Additionally,
reiterating the holding in Parish v. Parish, 412 N.J. Super. 39 (App. Div. 2010), the court concluded it was error to restrict defendant's access to the court unless he met these conditions beforehand.
