Inzax

Original story posted here by the Omaha World Herald.  The story that started all this was posted about a week ago.

A 25-year-old Omaha woman accused of teaching and encouraging her 4-year-old daughter to smoke marijuana has lost her parental rights on a temporary basis.

Douglas County Juvenile Court Judge Christopher Kelly decided Wednesday to place the girl and her 2-year-old brother in the home of their biological father, Micheal Watkins, 26.

The children’s mother, Lisa Schuchard, is charged with felony child abuse. She faces up to five years in prison if convicted. She entered the Douglas County Juvenile Court courtroom in shackles and an orange jail jumpsuit for Wednesday’s emergency custody hearing.

After hearing testimony, the judge barred Schuchard from having any contact with her children except through monitored telephone conversations.

In a stern tone, the judge instructed Schuchard not to discuss the circumstances of her criminal case with the children. According to court testimony, the children don’t know why their mother was removed from their home.

On Feb. 12, Omaha police went to Schuchard’s home near 34th and Hamilton Streets and found drug paraphernalia within reach of the children. They also found a large bruise on the 4-year-old’s right check and several bruises on her buttocks and upper legs. The girl told police that her mother and her mother’s live-in boyfriend, Christopher Gladden, were always sleeping.

The girl later demonstrated how she smoked from a joint, a bong and a pipe. The girl told police that her mother and Gladden gave her marijuana to smoke.

The girl and her brother were placed in temporary foster care after Schuchard’s arrest.

Gladden was charged with misdemeanor child abuse. He immediately pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts and received a six-month jail sentence.

Schuchard remains in jail, unable to post 10 percent of her $25,000 bail.

“My client is willing to do anything to get her children,” Schuchard’s attorney, Jenny Creighton, told the judge. “She is in parenting classes at the Douglas County Corrections Center.”

Watkins said outside the courtroom that he and Schuchard dated for about five years before breaking up in 2006. The couple worked out a custody agreement, allowing Watkins weekend visitations.

“I had nothing to do with the situation at hand,” Watkins told reporters. “Something like that, smoking pot, no 4-year-old child should ever have to learn. I am just very angry about the whole situation.”

Watkins said he wanted his children to have “a decent life and get things that normal kids get, a decent education and attention. As far as they are concerned, their mom is getting help right now. The kids don’t know what is going on with their mother.”