Father Gets Custody After Mom Slow to Disclose Sexual Abuse

Tennessee child custody modification case summary.

Bruce Gillam v. Destiny Ballew

The two children in this Anderson County, Tennessee, case were born in 2003 and 2008 to unwed parents, who had been dating since 2001 and lived in various states.  They lived in Tennessee when they broke up in 2010.  About the same time, the father lost his job and moved to New York to live with his mother.  At that time, he left the children with the mother in Tennessee.

The mother’s father was an admitted alcoholic who was listed on the sexual offender registry and was not to have any contact with minor children.  Nonetheless, he would visit the mother’s home, drink to the point of intoxication, and then spend the night.  During one of these visits, the grandfather was allowed to sleep on the couch with one of the children and sexually assaulted her.  The mother didn’t report this to the police or anyone else until the girl provided more details.

Shortly thereafter, the father filed a petition in Juvenile Court to establish paternity, and the case was heard by Judge M. Nichole Cantrell.  The Department of Children’s Services was also involved in the case.

Judge Cantrell held that there was sexual abuse and that it was a case of severe child abuse.  After hearing, the father was awarded custody and named the primary residential parent.  While the child was with the father in New York, there were allegations of sexual misconduct by a stepbrother, but these were later determined to be unfounded by New York authorities.  The mother then appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.

After discussing the relevant standard of review, the court turned to the custody issue.  The mother argued that she should have been allowed to present expert testimony of a psychological assessment.  However, the appeals court found that the lower court had acted within its discretion.

The court then reviewed the statutory factors employed in custody cases.  In particular, the court zeroed in on the fact that the mother had not disclosed the sexual abuse immediately.  The trial court found that this was unacceptable and an example that the mother wasn’t acting in the child’s best interest.

The court also noted that under the father’s custody, the girl was receiving appropriate counseling.

The court did note that changing custody was a break in continuity for the children.  However, the son had testified that he had made friends in New York and was happy living with his father.    After considering all of the factors, the appeals court agreed that the lower court had weighed them properly.

The mother also argued that the change of custody was not in the children’s best interest.  But because the court concluded that the statutory factors favored the father, it rejected this argument as well.

For these reasons, the appeals court affirmed the trial court’s decision.

No. E2018-01782-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. May 21,  2020).

See original opinion for exact language.  Legal citations omitted.

To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans.

See also Tennessee Parenting Plans and Child Support Worksheets: Building a Constructive Future for Your Family featuring examples of parenting plans and child support worksheets from real cases available on Amazon.com.