In re M.H. CA1/1

Filed 9/30/13 In re M.H. CA1/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FIRST APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

In re M.H., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law.

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES BUREAU, Plaintiff and Respondent, A137159 v. (Contra Costa County M.H., Super. Ct. No. J1200923) Defendant and Appellant.

M.H. (Father) appeals from juvenile court orders taking jurisdiction over his daughter M.H. under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300. He contends the court erred in ruling substantial evidence supports the finding that the child had been sexually abused by a member of her household. We affirm. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On June 7, 2012, the Contra Costa County Children and Family Services Bureau (Bureau) filed a juvenile dependency petition alleging that M.H., then five years of age, came within the juvenile court‟s jurisdiction pursuant to the provisions of Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivision (d) (sexual abuse).1 The petition was

1 Further undesignated statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code.

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supported by the allegation that the girl had been sexually abused while in Father‟s custody.2 In further support of the allegation, the Bureau also stated that the child had tested positive for the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea. The case came to the Bureau‟s attention on June 5, 2012, when it was reported that M.H.‟s maternal grandmother had taken the child to a pediatrician on June 1, 2012 due to a vaginal discharge and an abscess on her buttock. The doctor took various specimens for testing. On June 5, 2012, the lab results showed the child tested positive for gonorrhea and a staph infection. Per the doctor, the results confirmed sexual abuse. Reportedly, M.H. had stated that she slept in the bed with one of her teenage uncles, K.S., while at Father‟s home.3 During the initial investigation, Father and the paternal grandmother did not seem to understand that gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted disease and that M.H. had been sexually abused. The paternal grandmother believed the infection occurred because the child “wipes wrong and she scratches herself.” She also stated that she had spoken with K.S., who is her son, and he explained that he had given the girl a bath because she had urinated on herself. During an exam conducted by a sexual assault specialist, the child disclosed that K.S. had put her panties on the ground, kissed her on the lips, made her hold his penis, and rubbed her vagina and butt with his fingers. She also stated that it really hurt badly when he rubbed her butt. The child was taken into protective custody and placed in a foster home. On June 8, 2012, the juvenile court ordered M.H. detained in a nonrelative placement. Father was referred to parenting and sexual abuse education services. The court ordered that K.S. have no contact with the child.4 Father was granted supervised visitation at a minimum of one hour, two times per month.