Downstate couple allege state 'wrongfully ripped' their 7-month-old from them

A central Illinois couple allege the state unjustly took their 7-month-old son last year after the parents brought him to the doctor to treat a burn on his arm.

The baby's mother, concerned about the burn, took him to see his regular primary care doctor in Beardstown, about 195 miles southwest of Chicago. A nurse, worried the burn and other marks on his leg were signs of abuse, called the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

That triggered a three-month ordeal as the couple tried to get their son back from the state. Meanwhile, the boy bounced among five foster homes during a crucial period of development.

"Our client's son was wrongfully ripped from his parents' arms," Allyson West, an attorney with Hale and Monico representing the boy's parents, said during a news conference Monday.

"The wrongfully taken 7-month-old, who was exclusively breastfed, was taken from his family, and the DCFS investigators and caseworkers knew within 24 hours that there was absolutely no evidence whatsoever of abuse or neglect," West said.

A federal lawsuit against four DCFS investigators was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court in central Illinois. A second, separate complaint was filed Monday in the Illinois Court of Claims against the state and DCFS.

"Illinois DCFS prioritizes the safety and welfare of children. DCFS does not comment on pending litigation," a DCFS spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

The boy, called G.L. in the suit, likely suffered the burn when he pressed against a hot railing at the pool on the Fourth of July, Victor Lucha, the boy's father, said in the lawsuit. But his mom, Marisol Angel-Tapia, wasn't able to explain this at the doctor's office because a Spanish translator wasn't provided for her.

Within 24 hours after DCFS took custody of G.L., a child abuse pediatrician with the state agency determined the burn was not a sign of abuse and the marks on his leg were mosquito bite scars and not bruises, according to records obtained by Michelle Coady Carter, the parents' attorney in Springfield.

Yet Lucha and Tapia had to fight for three months to get their son back. At the time, G.L. was exclusively breastfeeding. But the state would not allow his mother to breastfeed him or supply breast milk. The boy, struggling to eat, was put on a feeding tube and experienced developmental delays while separated from his parents, Carter said.

"It's been really traumatizing to a point where there are no words to explain," Lucha told reporters on Monday, tearing up. "We want other families to know they shouldn't be scared, and there are people out there who can help."

Carter, who has represented the couple since the ordeal began, described her efforts to work with DCFS as adversarial.

"That is not what the juvenile process is supposed to be. It's supposed to be a process that leads to reunification and permanency for a child," Carter said.

Eventually, the Cass County state's attorney's office agreed there were no signs G.L. had been abused and dismissed the case against the parents. The boy was returned to his parents last October.

"The tragic irony of this entire situation is that this baby was taken from his loving family because of alleged abuse and neglect at the hands of his parents," said Kelly Olivier, another attorney with Hale and Monico representing the parents. "When in reality, the true abuse and neglect began at the hands of DCFS."