Damon's Law

THE PROBLEM DAMONS LAW WILL RESOLVE: Children are not being protected
from sexual abuse in family courts, while mothers are being called liars and mentally ill
when they try and protect them. Women are losing custody and are being devastated
financially and emotionally. Damons Law will eliminate this discrimination.

All reports of suspected child sexual assault by a parent as defined by Penal Code 11165.1
shall be immediately submitted to law enforcement for investigation by a multidisciplinary team.
All collateral investigations shall be stayed pending final determination of the criminal matter. A
no-contact order shall issue upon filing and shall forbid all contact between the child and the
accused parent pending final determination of the criminal matter.

All cases shall be submitted to the District Attorney. Priority shall be accorded the criminal
matter in that the criminal case will proceed first and expeditiously and all related non-criminal
matters shall be stayed pending final determination of the criminal matter. If the criminal matter
proceeds to trial, whether by judge or jury, the fact-finder shall first determine whether the
charges have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt. If a determination is made that none of
the charges have been so proved, there shall be no criminal conviction.

The fact-finder shall additionally make a civil finding as to whether the charges have been
proved by a preponderance of the evidence. If the charges are proved either beyond a
reasonable doubt or by a preponderance of the evidence, a long-term no-contact order shall
issue forbidding all contact between the child and the offending parent until the child reaches
majority. A minimum condition for a plea deal is a no contact order issued until the age of
majority.

This order shall not be modified by any other court in any related or collateral legal proceeding.
[Wendy Murphy, J.D., former sex crimes prosecutor, CNN/Fox legal analyst and law
professor helped draft this legislation]
COMMENTARY:
To date, family and dependency courts have functioned effectively as "incest loopholes"
whereby abusive parents are rarely prevented from sexually assaulting their own
children. It is discrimination against victims and their protective parents to divert cases
into a system which does not protect them due to substandard investigations by
unqualified social workers and psychologists and adjudications by biased or corrupt
judges and their court-appointed lawyers and psychologists.

Damon's Law will eliminate the loophole by mandating sexual assault by a parent be
dealt with the same way as by a non-parent, i.e. as a crime, not as a custody, mental
health or family matter. All cases will go to criminal court rather than divorce or
dependency court. Thorough law enforcement investigations will be conducted and
cases will be automatically filed with the D.A. The jury will be given the option of the civil
burden of "preponderance of evidence" if there is not enough evidence for a conviction.
If there is a determination by preponderance, a no contact order will be issued, valid
until the child reaches majority.

Since the lower burden is meant to protect children (as opposed to punish perpetrators),
it will be incumbent upon the D.A. to prosecute all cases in which the child reports
sexual assault or there is corroborating evidence. If they do not, they can be elected out
of officehence, the accountability judges lack. A proper investigation and jury trial will
not only protect children, it will protect parents from being wrongly found to be lying,
alienating or mentally ill and having their children removed from them.

DAMON is a 17 year old San Diego boy who had to resort to marriage to become
emancipated in order to escape his abusive father. For 10 years CPS and Family Court
not only failed to investigate or adjudicate properly, they deliberately dismissed and
suppressed evidence of abuse in order to give full custody to his abuser. Damon's case
is not the exception, but the rule.

Damon's Story - Lost In The System
http://www.myfoxla.com/story/19502814/damons-story-a-first-look
Teenage Wedding Brings Runaway 'Out of Hiding'
http://www.myfoxla.com/story/22142031/teenage-wedding-brings-runaway-out-of-hiding
"Children Lost in the System"
http://www.myfoxla.com/category/248760/lost-in-the-system

CONTACT: Cindy Dumas, M.A., Executive Director, Safe Kids International
cindyjdumas@yahoo.com