by PASCH Staff

In a custody battle, a judge in Virginia ordered that a four year old boy spend the summer with his mother in Utah. The Associated Press reports that on Tuesday the child’s mutiliated body was found in a northern Utah Canyon. The boy’s mother and stepfather, Stephanie and Nathniel W. Sloop, are being held on suspicion of aggravated murder, descration of a corpse, felony, child abuse and obstruction of justice.

Among the many terrifying aspects of domestic abuse is that of custody arrangements that place children at risk.

In Washington, DC on May 9, 2010, mothers from across America who have lost their children because family courts ordered them into full custody or unsupervised visitation with their alleged abusers gathere for their first silent vigil at 11:00 am on Mothers' Day, May 9, 2010 in front of the White House.

"We decided that Mother's Day was the perfect time to stand vigil in front of the White House with mothers from all over America whose children are either dead or living in harm's way because of the broken family court system," said Connie Valentine, the vigil organizer and Co-founder of the California Protective Parents Association.

Experts at the Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence estimate that more than 58,000 children each year are either placed into dangerous homes or forced to go on unsupervised visits with their alleged abusers by divorce courts that simultaneously deny the children's safe, protective parents access to their sexually and physically abused children.

Mildred Muhammad, the ex-wife of the Beltway Sniper, joined grieving mothers who recently appeared on the Dr. Phil Show's “Crisis in the Family Courts.” California mother Katie Tagle, whose nine-month old baby Wyatt was murdered by his father, and Illinois mother Amy Leichtenberg, whose two school-aged children Duncan and Jack were murdered by their father, shared their tragic stories of desperately trying to keep their children alive. Advocates Kathleen Russell from the Center for Judicial Excellence and Eileen King from Justice for Children, who have been closely monitoring this escalating crisis for years, discussed their work to expose and remedy the most under-reported human rights scandal in the United States.

These mothers of lost children are soccer moms, kindergarten teachers, physicians, flight attendants, dentists and homemakers. Most of them are middle class, educated and ordinary. They are safe, loving mothers (not addicts or abusers) who have been rendered powerless to protect their children from court-ordered child abuse. Most are battered women who tried to flee domestic abuse to save their children, only to end up mired in our nation's family courts, unable to protect them at all.

"America's Moms are coming to the President and First Lady to request a federal investigation into these horrific civil and human rights abuses. I need to make sure that that no parent has to ever go through this incredible pain again, and that my Duncan and Jack's deaths mean something, " said Amy Leichtenberg.

But what can churches do when confronted with such a crisis? Churches could perform a very important ministry by offering supervised visitation so that parents could interact with the child in a safe environment. Some churches offer this service on Saturday afternoons. We know of one kindly pastor who supervises visitation so that the offending parent can interact with the child while bowling or golfing rather than in the more formal setting of a social worker’s office.

Churches might also send members to attend court hearings when difficult matters of custody are to be decided. The observers should dress neatly, sit quietly and take notes. This can help an overloaded judge to think through the issues more carefully when there are legitimate concerns for safety.