Tug of war over Justin

Sunday, February 28, 1999

Tug of war over Justin

A 2-year-old boy is in the middle of a battle between the couple he lives with and his unmarried biological parents who want him back

Rick and Cheryl Asente want to keep Justin, center, with his brother Joey.
(Saed Hindash photo)
| ZOOM |

GIRARD, Ohio — On a recent morning, 2-year-old Justin stood in front of a television, fascinated by a videotape of the Teletubbies. He already had eaten breakfast and would spend the next hours playing with his brother, Joey, before they headed to a music class.

The red-haired, hazel-eyed boy smiles often and frequently volunteers hugs and kisses — seemingly unaware that he's in the middle of an emotional, interstate custody battle and has become the figurative rope in a tug-of-war.

On one side are Rich and Cheryl Asente of Girard in northeastern Ohio, a middle-class, college-educated couple who welcomed Justin into their home in February 1998, when he was 11 months old.

Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning appear in probate court last week.
(AP photo)
| ZOOM |

On the other side are Jerry Dorning and Regina Moore, an unmarried couple living together in government-subsidized housing in Covington. Court documents indicate they regretted their decision to give up Justin within days after he moved in with the Asentes and asked for him back about a month later.

Yet the Asentes, who live near the Pennsylvania border, refuse to give him up. They already had adopted Justin's older brother, Joey, now 3, and they couldn't bear to separate them.

Mrs. Asente remembers going through a lot of soul searching before deciding that she and her husband could give the child more stability. The Asentes have been trying to adopt Justin since June.

Meanwhile, Ms. Moore has said, “I can give Justin all the love and support he needs. We don't have as much money as the Asentes, but I don't feel that is a major necessity.” The family and their two attorneys have had no comment beyond that.

The two couples have been entrenched in a legal battle since soon after Justin went to live with the Asentes, though a Northern Kentucky judge could soon bring it to an end.

This month, Kenton Circuit Judge Patricia Summe ruled the Covington couple did not make an informed decision when they let Justin live with the Asentes. The judge said the couple incorrectly thought they had until a special March 26 hearing to make up their minds, but the consent forms they signed in January actually became irrevocable 20 days later.

Judge Summe is scheduled to make a final ruling on Justin's custody at a March 16 hearing. The Asentes, meanwhile, have promised a fight. They already have submitted an appeal to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, which they hope will postpone the judge's final ruling.

Mrs. Asente refuses to speak ill of Justin's birth parents, but she believes she and her husband can provide him more stability and the love of Joey. She said Justin really looks up to his older brother.

“It'd be a lot worse to take him out of this (environment), because now he knows there's something better,” she said. “We will appeal it for as long as we can appeal it.”

Mr. Asente also promises a fight. The retail manager for a Staples store makes about $40,000 a year and has been billed $83,000 in legal fees. The couple has raised about $10,000 and borrowed about $25,000 from relatives. On average, they're paying about $2,000 a month in legal fees.

Fighting the legal battle while also trying to raise funds, work a full-time job and raise two young boys wears on the couple. But the fatigue and constant calls from attorneys and the media hasn't lessened their determination to keep Justin under their roof.

“Sometimes, I don't want to do anything but crawl in a hole,” Mr. Asente said. “But if it means keeping the little guys together, you'll do anything.”

A battle for Justin
Ms. Moore gave birth to Joey in December 1995. Mr. Dorning is the father. Joey went to live with the Asentes when he was 11 days old.

Ms. Moore became pregnant again and gave birth to Justin in February 1997. Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning began seriously thinking about letting the Asentes adopt the child in December of that year because of Ms. Moore's health and the couple's financial status.

Court documents show Ms. Moore had a hysterectomy because of medical problems in July 1997, between the time she had Justin and the time she let him go live with the Asentes.

The documents also state that she told an attorney “it hurts” to have given up Justin and that she began to have doubts two days after the Feb. 17 placement.

The couple already had signed consent-to-adopt forms — but with the understanding that they would be able to change their minds about the adoption up until a March 26, 1998, hearing.

That hearing was postponed after Ms. Moore made it clear the day of the hearing that she didn't want to go through with the adoption and that she wanted Justin returned to her immediately. That night, Ms. Moore called Mrs. Asente to relay her decision and tell Mrs. Asente that she wanted Justin returned.

In June 1998, the Asentes began adoption proceedings in Ohio. The Covington couple followed in August with a civil lawsuit in Kentucky to have the child returned to them.

Judge Summe ruled in their favor. The Asentes appealed on the grounds that Kenton Circuit Court had no jurisdiction in the case, because Justin had been living in Ohio. The appeals court rejected that motion, which allowed the local judge to rule on the consent-to-adopt forms earlier this month.

Judge Summe ruled Justin should be returned to his biological parents. The adoption proceeding in Ohio was put on hold until the custody issue is resolved.

A child doesn't know
The Asentes say Justin is a lot like his brother. Both have the same red hair and pale skin, and, just as his older brother did at 2, Justin is starting to develop rapidly, losing the plumpness that most babies have, and starting to pick up more words.

It seems obvious the two care for each other. When eating breakfast at the kitchen table on Wednesday morning, Joey pointed at his younger sibling to note that Justin “got his hair cut but he's still the same.”

Justin sat on a booster seat. He picked at a cinnamon roll and smiled at his brother's comments. Off from the kitchen is a family room, where the boys obviously rule.

There are toys, stuffed animals and children's books and videos around the perimeter of the room and this is where the family usually can be found when they're at home.

It's the day after an adoption hearing in Ohio, and Justin goes from watching the Teletubbies to sitting on the couch with his brother, walking around in a pair of his mother's brown flats, jumping on Mr. Asente's back and cuddling with Mrs. Asente as she changes his clothes.

It's this sense of a stable family life that the Asentes want to keep providing. They believe they can be better parents to Joey because of this home life, not because of money.

The Asentes haven't told the boys about a possible separation, because they don't want to destroy the home's stability. Plus, they have hopes that they'll win the legal battle and never have to give up the child.

While they always try to be upbeat for the children, they acknowledge that the custody fight they're involved in never leaves their consciousness.

“At this point, we go day to day,” Mrs. Asente said. “To some degree, you never get it out of your mind.”

“I have to believe in the end that the system is not going to put an adult's needs over a child's. Justin shouldn't have to pay.”



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