U.S.A. GETS TUFF!!

Officials seize sex offender's baby
Mother fought to keep custody of infant son


Saturday, October 22, 2005;
Posted: 6:21 a.m. EDT (10:21 GMT)
POTTSVILLE, Pennsylvania (AP) --
Child welfare authorities seized a newborn from a hospital
Friday and placed the baby in a foster home because his
father is a convicted sex offender.
A judge granted the mother supervised visitation rights
but prohibited visits from the father.
"There's no happy ending in these things. It's what we think
is the best interest of the children," said Gerard Campbell,
executive director of Schuylkill County Children and
Youth Services. The agency took custody of the baby
over the mother's objections.
The baby was born Tuesday and the agency obtained an
emergency court order Wednesday authorizing it to take
the infant. Child welfare workers argued the infant boy's
safety is in jeopardy because the father pleaded guilty to rape
and sodomy two decades ago in New York.
The agency also cited the mother's alleged history of
drug abuse.
Another hearing is set for October 31.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/10/22/sexoffender.custody.ap/index.html