In re J v. CA2/1

Filed 8/25/16 In re J.V. CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 ONE

In re J.V., a Person Coming Under the B267342 Juvenile Court Law. (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. DK07833)

LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES,

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

WILLIAM V.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from orders of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Julie Fox Blackshaw, Judge. Reversed and remanded with directions. Jesse McGowan, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Mary C. Wickham, County Counsel, R. Keith Davis, Acting Assistant County Counsel, and Tracey F. Dodds, Principal Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

William V. (Father) appeals from the juvenile court’s dispositional orders removing his son, J.V. (Son), now age 10, from his care after it found that his sexual and live-in relationship with an underage runaway fugitive endangered Son. Father argues insufficient evidence supported the jurisdictional findings and removal order. We agree insufficient evidence supported the findings, but only insofar as the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) pleaded them. We reverse and remand with directions. BACKGROUND Son came to the attention of the DCFS on September 15, 2014, after he arrived at school with bruises on his cheek and thigh and his description of how he got them was inconsistent with the bruises’ appearances. When interviewed by DCFS, Son revealed his mother, L.V. (Mother), had hit him with a belt. A forensic examination confirmed the bruise on his thigh was consistent with being struck by a belt and the bruise on his face was consistent with being slapped in the face. On October 7, 2014, the juvenile court issued a removal warrant authorizing DCFS to take Son from Mother and place him with Father. A week later, on October 14, 2014, DCFS filed a dependency petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300, subdivisions (a) and (b) based on Mother’s physical abuse of Son; the petition also included allegations regarding Mother’s abuse of Son’s half sister, D.C. (Sister).1 We do not address the allegations as to Sister because they are not at issue here. Almost two weeks later, on October 27, 2014, law enforcement pulled Father over for running two stop signs and, after asking for his identification, discovered Father was driving on a suspended license. The officers removed Father and his passenger, A.M., a teenage female, from the car. A.M. identified herself as “Carolina V.,” using Father’s last name, and stated her birth date upon request. When asked who A.M. was, Father claimed she was his daughter, “Carolina V.,” but provided a different birth date. Father explained the discrepancy, saying, “ ‘It’s because she’s my daughter and I spent most of