Background
The West Virginia Department of Human Services alleged that L.C.-2 sexually abused D.C., then age twelve, on two occasions while she was sleeping at relatives’ homes. D.C. said L.C.-2 touched her genitals under her underwear in October 2023 and February 2024; after the second incident, she said he took her phone and warned that he would go to jail and kill himself if she told anyone.
At adjudication, the circuit court heard D.C.’s recorded Child Advocacy Center interview and her in-camera account, along with testimony from a CAC interviewer and Dr. Bridget Magnetti. Both experts found D.C.’s disclosures consistent and credible. L.C.-2 denied the allegations and offered screenshots intended to challenge D.C.’s credibility. The court found D.C. and the expert testimony credible, adjudicated L.C.-2 as an abusive and neglectful parent, and later terminated his parental rights to D.C. and the two children who lived in the home, L.C.-1 and M.C.
The Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed. It held that clear and convincing evidence supported the adjudication: D.C.’s consistent accounts, her recorded interview, and the testimony of the CAC interviewer and Dr. Magnetti supported the finding that L.C.-2 sexually abused her twice.
The court declined to reweigh the evidence or revisit the circuit court’s credibility determinations. It also upheld termination because the sexual abuse and resulting family stress supported the finding that there was no reasonable likelihood the conditions of abuse and neglect could be substantially corrected in the near future. The circuit court had also found termination in the children’s best interests, and L.C.-2 did not challenge that finding on appeal.
Key Takeaways
- Appellate courts will not reweigh evidence or reassess witness credibility in abuse-and-neglect appeals.
- Consistent child disclosures and supporting forensic-interview testimony can satisfy the clear-and-convincing-evidence standard.
- Sexual abuse may support immediate termination when the statutory conditions show that corrective services cannot adequately address the risk.
Why It Matters
The decision underscores the deference West Virginia appellate courts give to circuit courts’ credibility findings in child-abuse cases. It also confirms that a parent’s sexual abuse of one child can establish abuse as to other children residing in the home and can justify termination without a less restrictive alternative when statutory conditions are met.