Parents of Sick Teen Accused of Verbally Abusing Hospital Staff, Lose Custody
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John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images(BOSTON) — A Boston juvenile court judge has given the state of Massachusetts permanent custody of Justina Pelletier until the age of 18, issuing a ruling that chastised the parents accused of mismanaging the treatment of their sick 15-year-old.
Justina has been under the psychiatric care of Boston Children’s Hospital for the last 13 months, and her parents, Lou and Linda Pelletier of West Hartford, Conn., have been only allowed to see their daughter once a month under state supervision.
Suffolk County Court Judge Joseph Johnston ruled March 25 that the girl will remain in the hands of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families unless her parents can prove they are capable of taking care of their daughter.
The four-page ruling slammed the family for verbally abusing hospital caregivers by calling them “Nazis” and accusing them of “kidnapping” and “killing” their daughter, according to a copy obtained by ABC News.
The judge also alleged that the social worker assigned to Justina’s case had to be reassigned because Lou Pelletier threatened her. He said the family has stood in the way of every attempt to get Justina treatment.
“Efforts by hospital clinicians to work with the parents were futile and never went anywhere,” read the ruling. “Unfortunately, there has been not any progress by the parents.”
Lou Pelletier, who filed an appeal in the custody case last December, told ABC News that he is now ready to file a writ of habeas corpus in Massachusetts Supreme Court for “wrongful imprisonment” of his daughter.
“Eventually, we are working on federal lawsuits to do with civil rights violations,” said the financial planner, who is the father of four girls. “We are just trying to determine which state to file them in.”
“Obviously, as much as we are devastated, this is the corrupt, crooked court system,” he added. “This shows the judge is a coward.”
The judge in the case ruled that Justina has “a persistent and severe somatic symptom disorder,” a psychiatric condition that causes a person to experience physical pain for which no known medical explanation can be found. He said the ruling was based on “credible medical and psychiatric evidence.”
The judge said Justina was ready to be discharged from Boston Children’s Hospital in June 2013, but she remained an additional seven months because placement was “significantly hampered” by her parents.
He added that the Pelletiers had stood in the way of Connecticut child protective services placing Justina close to home because they “threatened to sue.” Other suitable programs denied placement because of “concerns of litigation,” according to the ruling.
Justina is now living at Wayside Youth and Family Support Network, a residential program in Framingham, Mass.
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