In re M.R. CA2/2

Filed 6/29/16 In re M.R. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION TWO

In re M.R. et al., Persons Coming Under B266603 the Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. DK09802)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

DAVID R.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from findings and order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Julie Fox Blackshaw, Judge. Affirmed in part and remanded with directions.

Christopher R. Booth, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant.

Office of the County Counsel, Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, R. Keith Davis, Acting Assistant County Counsel, and Tyson B. Nelson, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

_________________________

This is an appeal from a jurisdictional order in a dependency case pertaining to M.R. (sister) and M.R. (brother) (collectively minors). David R. (father) father does not challenge the juvenile court’s jurisdiction. Rather, he asks us to reverse the jurisdictional finding that he physically harmed the minors when he spanked them with a belt, and they were at risk of physical harm in the future. The question presented is whether the belt spankings qualified as serious physical harm within the meaning of Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b).1 Because the juvenile court did not analyze the factors set forth by In re D.M. (2015) 242 Cal.App.4th 634, 640 (D.M.), we reverse and remand the matter for a new hearing on whether father caused the minors serious physical harm by spanking them with a belt, and whether they were at risk of physical harm in the future. In all other respects, we affirm. FACTS Father was born in 1951. He is a registered sex offender based on a crime he committed in 1991.2 At some point in the 2000’s, he was in a relationship with Francine M. (mother), who was born in 1985. During their relationship, they fought and were violent toward each other. Sister was born in 2006, and brother was born in 2009. In 2014, mother stabbed father in the hand. After that incident, she left the family home and did not return. As reported to the Department through a child abuse hotline, mother’s new boyfriend—a man named Alex—touched brother’s penis. It was further reported that