By Joseph Snook
Investigative Reporter
Christi with
her
other daughter
|
Medford, OR
- After nearly two years of forced separation from her oldest daughter,
Christi MacLaren finally felt relief when she found out last week that
she would be receiving more time with her daughter. Christi has been
fighting for her child since the young girl was four-years-old; long
before a false "founded abuser" report was issued against
Christi by Oregon's Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Caseworker
Cori McGovern. McGovern had falsely claimed that Christi had "mentally
abused" her own child for turning in a report of child abuse against
the child's father, which was reported by the young girl. That false
claim of mental abuse against Christi was later overturned by Cori McGovern's
own superiors in a formal letter. Despite being cleared by DHS, Christi
was not allowed to parent her child, and visitations were, until recently,
supervised. All the while Christi's daughter was being made to live
with the very person she stated had abused her; her father Sean Lenzo.
During the last
day of trial between Christi and Lenzo over custody of their daughter,
Judge Ronald Grensky shocked the court. He agreed to finally talk with
the now six-year-old child about several key points raised during trial.
After meeting with
the young girl, Judge Grensky ordered both parents to take polygraph
exams. Specifically, he ordered that Sean Lenzo, the girl's father must
pass a urinalysis test before he takes a polygraph. Christi was also
ordered to do the same, even though she's never had any drug problems,
unlike Sean, who was twice charged with felony drug crimes according
to records and has admitted in a deposition to using Heroin and Methamphetamines.
Lenzo
will be asked about abuse during upcoming polygraph.
DHS Caseworker
Cori McGovern
|
After the long years
of back and forth in court, unfounded intervention at the hands of DHS,
and time spent away from her daughter, last week brought a shining ray
of hope for Christi, her parents, and her other daughter. In total,
they have had the six-year-old child ripped from their care for almost
two years because of the actions of one very troubled caseworker - Cori
McGovern. McGovern's past work with DHS has cost the agency over $1
million when she was successfully sued in a separate case. McGovern
was never fired.
Multiple experts
had previously voiced concerns about the young child being around her
father, Sean Lenzo. Victoria Bones, a licensed clinical social worker
wrote a report recommending no contact between the child and her father
- not even supervised. Child Caseworker Cori McGovern never acknowledged
the report from Victoria Bones before removing Christi's daughter from
her care in 2015. It is apparent still that the full weight of Bones'
report has not impacted the court to the extent in which it should.
Last week, Christi's
daughter finally had a chance to tell the judge who she wants to live
with. Furthermore, the reports from professionals are part of the court
record, and the lie-detectors will be completed in the near future.
Until Judge Grensky makes a final ruling - Christi gets to finally enjoy
her daughter once again - something she has waited years for!
When a concerned
friend of Christi came to the US~Observer, Christi was only getting
one supervised visit per week. She is now enjoying much deserved time
with her daughter, including UNSUPERVISED overnight visits -
and rightfully so! Christi still has costly legal fees and a polygraph
that she must pay for before her case is finally finished. Please help
by donating to her gofundme
account - you, or someone you know could one day need the same.
Editor’s
Note: Christi is enjoying being with her daughter, however there was
way more than enough evidence presented at trial for Grensky to award
sole custody to her. The US~Observer has received numerous complaints
with accompanying evidence about Sean’s Attorney Jamie Hazlett
and her cozy relationship with Grensky and others in the legal system
in Jackson County. Could this be the sole reason that this six-year-old
girl’s wellbeing is still in limbo?
Any prudent
person would think that people in positions of power would at least
be smart enough to make the right decisions in cases where the US~Observer
is involved.
More from the US~Observer:
Thirteen-Year-Old
Incarcerated
Without Committing A Crime
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day 2017 -
IRS Agents' Alleged Tax Fraud