A Michigan mother has gone into hiding out of fear that local authorities will take her daughter into their custody. This comes after the mother was cleared of abuse allegations.
14-month-old Naomi Burns was taken to the hospital at just ten weeks old due to seizures and vomiting. Medical experts concluded that Naomi had injuries consistent with vacuum suctioning during a traumatic/difficult birth. However, a doctor later at the University of Michigan discovered bleeding between Naomi’s brain and skull which he said was caused by abuse. Josh Burns is Naomi’s father and he admits that Naomi slipped off his knee last March, but claims he caught her before she hit anything.
Shortly after the head injury was discovered, CPS was alerted and they accused both parents of child abuse. Naomi was then put into foster care.
Naomi’s mother Brenda was cleared of all charges by a jury and regained custody of the child soon after the verdict. However, Josh was convicted of felony child child abuse in January, even though through this entire trial both maintain his innocence. The couple told WXYZ-TV Detroit that they have lost faith in the judicial system.
The story gets even more concerning when, on the day of Josh’s conviction, a CPS worker and local police raided the Burns’ home. The couple and their attorney believe that CPS was going to try to take custody away from the parents, once again. Brenda opted to flee with Naomi.
Then their attorney Elizabeth Warner sent out a letter to CPS last week explaining that Brenda was moving and all contact with Mrs. Burns should be made through Warner.
Warner explained that CPS gave a response that had all the makings of someone holding a grudge. They filed a new petition against Brenda and demanded that she give them her address. Not only that, but they put her on the Central Registry, a secret state list of child abusers. Warner revealed that the paperwork filed by CPS was proved to be filed much later than dated and is considered illegal. This is a huge roadblock for the family as Brenda will not be able to continue to work at her job as a nurse now that she has been added to the Central Registry.
The Burns family said they will continue to do everything in their power to fight what they believe is a corrupt system.
