ROBERT KOVALAK, JR. and sister CARRIE The 'background' is one of many 'verbal abusive' episodes Robert Jr. and Carrie sustained from their father. This one occurred 12/28/96, North Royalton police initially arrested father for Domestic Violence. Father talked his way out of it and subsequently police officers falsified official reports. If Carrie did not have her tape recorder with her and on, this child abuse and falsification of records would go unnoticed. Attempts to seek disciplinary action from North Royalton officials have gone ignored. Domestic Relations Court, Cuyahoga County, Case No. D186185, Judge Christene McMonagle, via Magistrate Gregory Fuss, heard Robert's pleas for love, not hurt, from his father. They ignored him and instead placed Robert Jr. and Carrie in the home of Bob Kovalak, where Robert Jr. and Carrie were forced to endure more episodes of abuse. According to Cleveland attorney, Alexandria Ruden (Legal Aide Society, magistrate 'just didn't like mom, was a personality thing) TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS March 22, 1996 - - -000- - - (Thereupon, ROBERT KOVALAK, JR., a minor, was examined and testified as follows:) - ----- THE MAGISTRATE: This is Ria. She is a court reporter. What she is doing is, as I'm talking, is essentially typing out in code everything that we say. I'm telling you that so, one, you have some idea of why this other person is here but, two, so you know nothing we say is confidential. Do you know what I mean when I say confidential? THE MINOR: Yes THE MAGISTRATE: Anybody who wants a copy of what we have said can request it and Ria will have it printed out on multiple sheets of paper and they can read it -- read every word you have said. Okay? THE MINOR: Okay. THE MAGISTRATE: I want you to know that up front. I have been advised that you wanted to come down to the Court -- THE MINOR: Yes. THE MAGISTRATE: and tell me some things. So what I need to do is ask you a couple formal questions which will make it clear in this record as to who is talking. THE MINOR: Okay. THE MAGISTRATE: Just get some basic information. Your age and date of birth and well get that on the record and then we'll talk. THE MINOR: Okay. EXAMINATION OF ROBERT KOVALAK, JR. BY THE MAGISTRATE: So, the first formal question is What is your full name? My full name is Robert Raymond Kovalak, Junior. Do you prefer to be called Robert? Yes. Your date of birth is what? July 16th, 1983. That makes you how old now? 12. Robert, are you aware of the fact that our mom and dad are in some litigation here in this Court? Yes, I am And that your dad is seeking to obtain custody of you and your sister? Yes. How old is your sister? She is 9 nine years old. Okay. Under the law here in Ohio you can at anyone's request be invited in to state your wishes or preferences as to what the Court might do relative to establishing a custody order or even a visitation order, who would have custody of you, who would have what rights as to visitation. Do you understand those two distinctions, custody and visitation? Yes. That one of your parents would have basic control over you and you would live with that parent? Yes. Visitation is basically Court ordered access of the non-custodial parent, the parent who doesn't have custody, to the children and basically what it does is establish a schedule upon which you have access to your other parent. Okay. Is there anything you would like to say to me as the Court relative to what you would like relative to your custody or visitation? Well, I would like to live with my mom because I love her and she doesn't hit me like my dad hits me. When we get in an argument, it doesn't result in screaming or hitting. I would also like to live with her because I have more friends in Berea and I made a lot more and I'm doing pretty good in school. How good is pretty good? I got the merit roll last quarter. I just took an English test and I got an A on it which was pretty hard. What were your grades like? I got only one C which was in English and I got four B's and I think three A's. Dynamite. As for visitation, I would like to see my dad twice a week if I live with my mom but do not want to live with my dad at all but still love him as a father except he makes he angry sometimes when he hits me and when he hits me he makes me stay downstairs and I can't call my mom and tell her that he hit me and that makes me feel pretty bad because I would like her to come pick me up if he hits me. As far as visitation goes, I would just like to live in Berea more because there are activities there. I joined karate this last summer. I go there during all summers. I took a babysitting class at the Y.M.C.A. of Berea. I have pretty good teachers there and so far I have heard that Berea City Schools are a lot better than North Royalton and here is less crimes in Berea. That's what I have heard from the police officer that I have talked to. Which police officer? I don't know his exact name but when I got jumped after school one day, he said that here was more crime in North Royalton than here is in Berea. Where were you jumped? It was in front of a church right off school grounds . What city? In Berea, but I don't fear getting hurt anymore because when I went home and old my mom, the police officer came right over and worked everything out and we took them to Juvenile Court for what they did and hey got put in the detention home. Anything else that you would like to say relative to custody or visitation? For custody, I just would never want to live at my dad's house because all his friends drink all the time. Whenever he drinks, he gets mad and crazy and that's when he really hits us. He throws balls at my head when I'm in his pool which I don't like that. I have had really bad bruises, like bumps on my head, from when he threw a swimming mask at my head and he says he is sorry and he didn't mean to do it. I saw him standing on the porch and hurl it at me really hard. When we play catch, if I throw something that he can't catch or he misses it, he makes me get out of the pool, get it and then he throws it at me really hard or if- - well, one time when we were playing basketball with his friends that came over, my sister got in the way and I, like, pushed her aside and then she started screaming saying I punched her and kicked her and everything and then my dad was shooting a basket, he came and dunked me under water and kept me under there for about 30 or 40 seconds. Then he makes everything a contest, seeing who can do better in things, catch bigger fish when we go fishing, and one time when I went fishing with my mom, he called afterward, like, a day or two afterwards, and after I told him I caught a fish and my sister got a huge catfish that we ate, he said somebody else took us because my mom didn't have a fishing license or know how to fish but she did. I think Berea is much better for me because there is more room to play sports here. You got a big park right next to us, by the Marathon gas station, where I could play football. That's what I play with my friends, like, almost all the time when the weather permits it, but at his house all we do is play kickball for, like, two or three innings or until the neighbors come over because he doesn't like this one kid playing so then when they come over, he says, "Oh, we have to go eat now." When he is over with his friends, he is always having beers, two or three cans, which I don't really like because when he comes in, he always yells at us for the lightest thing, if we just hit something on accident, or if we spill something. Like one time I spilled - - well, I had cup of tea on the floor but I didn't spill it. I said, "Watch out; my tea is on the floor." He turned around and spilled it and he said, "What," and then I said, "Dad, you just knocked over my tea." He is, like, Oh, the s h -- word, and grabbed me by my arm and threw me the room into the stereo speaker and He is like, "Robert, go get a towel now," in real mad attitude. Then one time when I was upstairs brushing my teeth with my sister in there, we were playing games in there, and we were playing like toothpaste fights with toothpaste tubes like swords and she screamed because I hit her hand on accident. He comes up there and grabs me by my neck and holds me against the wall saying, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Then another time that happened, he slapped me right across my face and then I was crying and my mom came up and she asked hat happened and I said my dad hit me and he denied it which I don't think was right because my mom teaches me not to lie because she thinks lying is wrong. Then the time when he picked me up by my neck, I had little read dots all around my neck. They didn't go away for about two or three days. Okay. How old is Carrie? She's nine, I think. Are you and Carrie close? Yes. Her birthday is in February. She was born in '86 so that would probably make her ten. Okay. I think I have got that down pretty well here. Anything else you think I need to know right now? If you want to, I could go get my report card. No. I trust you. That should pretty well do us. Okay? Okay. THE MAGISTRATE: All right. Robert, thanks very much. Really nice meeting you. THE MINOR: Thank you too. THE MAGISTRATE: One thing, because I don't want any misimpression. Have a seat again. I think it's important that you understand that it really is important to me as the Court to know what your feelings are and where you are coming from in all the litigation that's taking place here but it's important too that you understand that that's one part of all of the information that goes into the Court making a decision, so things may not necessarily be exactly what you want. It will be a function - - the Court's ultimate decision will be a function of all of the information that has been presented to the Court both from you and from your parents. Do you understand that? THE MINOR: Yes. THE MAGISTRATE: And whatever happens, you have input into it, but the ultimate decision at this point since your parents haven't, to my knowledge, reached any agreement the ultimate decision will be the Court's. Okay? THE MINOR: Okay. I also heard from my mom talking to me that my dad wanted to take me out to dinner this weekend and the only way I would go to dinner with him is if a supervisor was there, and whenever I ask him about the supervisor, he says he doesn't know who they are. There is only one more thing I really want to tell you. When we went to counseling after the first time we went there, we -- my mom, my sister, I and Cynthia called my dad and asked him to come to counseling many times. He just said Cynthia was a b-i-t-c-h that wanted his money and he said he didn't have the time he didn't need to go. I think from his actions that he was making and with the words he was using, and hitting us, that he really does need to go, and I do not want to go to his counselor because I think I should get to choose which counselor I want to go to. THE MAGISTRATE: Okay. Like I said, it's important for us to know what you want and that will all be information that we take into consideration when we make our ultimate decision. Okay? THE MINOR: Okay. THE MAGISTRATE: All right. Thank you very much. THE MINOR: You are welcomed. THE MAGISTRATE: Take good care. - - -000- - - (Thereupon, Court was adjourned.) ---000 - - - You will find all the story and subjects listed below at: JOIN HANDS for Children & Families Please follow thru on this story at their site. This is a very typical and horrible example of abuse by the parent and neglect by the Child Protection agency that was supposed to protect these and all children from abuse. ROBERT KOVALAK JR. July,96, letter to MOM & SCHOOL CARRIE KOVALAK ‘understands' why God made ELEPHANTS GRAY CARRIE'S letter to CCDCFS DIRECTOR, JUDITH GOODHAND ROBERT JR. - letter to JUDITH GOODHAND, CCDCFS DIRECTOR   OMBUDSMAN's 04/97 REPORT to CTY COMMISSIONER CAMPBELL OMBUDSMAN's FOLLOW-UP 06/12/97 to CCDCFS's 'Meetings'   CCDCFS IGNORES CHILDRENS CONCERNS OF DAD'S 'CALM PILLS' SUBSTANTIATED ABUSE - IGNORED by CCDCFS - JUVENILE COURT 1996 CASE PLAN - IGNORED by BOB KOVALAK and CHILD ‘PROTECTIVE' SERVICES   CHILDREN ABUSED or DEAD while "PROTECTED" - FAMILIES ABUSED by DOMESTIC RELATIONS CHILDREN & FAMILIES - Statistics - CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT - WELFARE FEDERAL MANDATES - CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT Prevention - FOSTER CARE - BEST INTEREST of CHILD