Tuesday, March 09, 1999
Battle for Justin catches attention of national shows
News programs detail dispute over adoption
BY SUSAN VELA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — An emotionally charged, interstate custody battle for 2-year-old Justin is getting national attention.
On Monday morning, Good Morning America did a segment on the battle that Rich and Cheryl Asente of Girard, Ohio, and Regina Moore and Jerry Dorning of Covington are waging over the boy.
Two other TV shows — 20/20 and the new CBS news program 60 Minutes II — also have expressed interest in covering the Asentes' attempts to adopt the child, who has been living with them since Feb. 17, 1998.
The birth parents, Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning, changed their minds about putting the child up for adoption and have been trying to get him back since late March of that year. The Asentes have refused.
Good Morning America'sfive-minute segment featured taped footage of Justin playing with his biological brother, Joey, whom the Asentes already have adopted, and of Ms. Moore crying as she talked about Justin.
The 23-year-old woman, who is not married to Mr. Dorning, let the child live with the Asentes because of financial and health problems. She does not have a phone and could not be reached for this story.
Mrs. Asente doesn't mind the national attention.
“I think it's good that people are interested in Justin's story,” she said. “I don't see how it can hurt Justin. It may not help, but it can't hurt. Somebody must care about what happens to him.”
The Asentes were shown live from their home. The segment also included live interviews of Louisville attorney Mitchell Charney, who is representing the Asentes in Kentucky proceedings, and Richard A. Cullison, the executive director of the Northern Kentucky Legal Aid Society, who has been working on the case with legal aid attorney Glenda Harrison. Ms. Harrison is representing Ms. Moore and Mr. Dorning.
“We prefer to try our cases in court rather than in the media, (but) I knew that the other side to the controversy was going to be on the show,” Mr. Cullison said. “We should make some attempts to balance the viewpoints.”
He said Ms. Moore didn't appear because “she's pretty overwrought by all the publicity.”
Last week, Ms. Moore was in the spotlight twice. Once, she gave her side of the struggle to get Justin back. A second time, she defended herself against claims by former co-workers at the Disabled American Veterans national headquarters in Cold Spring.
They said they gave her at least $100 last year after she told them Justin had died. But Ms. Moore, who was a temporary worker at the DAV for about a month, said that it was a misunderstanding, that she never told them he died.
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