Location Il - Emergency Custody: Registered Sex Offender Uncle Fabricated Claims To Get Order Of Protection, Now Trying To Extend It While Police Investigate Coached Abuse Claims. Hearing On The 13th.

Location: Illinois

TIA for reading and prepare to board the crazy train, I feel like I'm in the freaking Twilight Zone with how hard it is to get a REGISTERED CHILD SEX OFFENDER to not have physical custody of my kids!

I need urgent legal guidance regarding an emergency custody and Order of Protection (OP) crisis in Illinois involving my children, M16 and F14. There is an incredibly high-stakes court date this Friday, November 13th, where the petitioner is trying to extend a temporary order to a 2-year Plenary OP. I have already contacted legal aid, but because of how quickly this court date is approaching and the very short notice I received, I am seeking any information I can find.

I know I need an attorney; I just cannot afford one at this exact moment and am doing the best I can to protect my kids.

Background:

In March 2024, my ex and I spiraled into severe substance abuse, were evicted from our housing, and became homeless. While we were unhoused, our children were originally staying with their paternal grandfather.

In the month prior to being evicted, we neglected their medical and educational needs, though there was never any physical or sexual abuse (important later).

In December of 2024, I was hospitalized with MRSA endocarditis and multiple necrotic pulmonary embolisms, which marked the beginning of me trying to pull myself out of addiction and an extremely unhealthy 17 year long relationship. Six weeks into that intensive hospitalization, right before I was scheduled to undergo heart surgery, I reached out to contact my children. It was at that exact moment that I was informed an Order of Protection had been taken out against me and their father. He had attempted to file for an emergency order of protection but that was denied, and a plenary order protection was granted when I did not show up to the court date ( I was in the ICU).

After I was released from the hospital, I felt utterly lost and defeated, like everything I had worked so hard for was for nothing and I immediately went back to my partner and drugs. This resulted in a single arrest for possession.

The sex offender/Uncle used that arrest to extend the temporary order. However, since that single arrest, there have been absolutely no other arrests. I have completely turned things around, secured stable housing, and am currently in the process of filing for disability to completely get back on my feet and build a stable life for my children. After the grandfather began struggling with an illness, the children's care was informally shifted over to their paternal uncle. As soon as I was informed I started making waves, however my family and my ex's family both backed him having my kids in his care. I very recently found out that he was receiving monetary support from not only my family and his family but also the state. My family made my concerns out to be stemming from my own personal sexual abuse as a child, and treated me as though I was crazy. I have still been receiving reports on my son's mental health and therapy sessions due to me still being his guardian. I have reached out to his therapist, his prescribing psychologist, and have had multiple people reach out to DCFS to file a complaint after hearing my story, all of them have been met with complete radio silence. Due to my history and now my current in harm reduction hopefully in my community, I still have interactions with police officers on a regular basis. During one recent interaction an officer asked me, "Isn't your son named Son?" I replied "Yes, that's my son." He asked me if I was trying to get custody of my kids and I said "Absolutely ." He then said I needed to "Hurry it up" as he responds to their address frequently.

The Current Crisis

The paternal uncle is a registered child sex offender. Under Illinois law, it is illegal for a registered offender to knowingly have a child placed in their care.

My 16-year-old son has had severe suicidal ideation and has run away multiple times, has reported physical abuse by the uncle (which he later recanted after the Uncle was brought into his hospital room.

Recently, the uncle has been aggressively pushing to place my 16-year-old son into a residential facility. I strongly believe this is an effort to isolate my 14-year-old daughter (who is the exact age of his past victim) by removing my son, who has been actively protecting her.

VERY IMPORTANT- BIRTH CERTIFICATE AND PATERNITY

• 16M Son: My ex is on his birth certificate and recently filed an emergency motion to vacate the uncle's OP due to the abuse and the uncle's sex offender status.

• 14F Daughter: My ex is NOT on my daughter’s birth certificate. We were never married. There is zero legal association between my daughter and her paternal ex-family. Legally, the uncle is a complete stranger to her.

Fabricated Claims in the Original OP:

To get the initial temporary order, the uncle filed multiple completely false allegations against me:

1. The Parking Lot Incident: He claimed I approached my son in public and screamed at him. In reality, I hadn't seen him in months, spotted him across a parking lot, and simply said his name. Once I saw he looked uncomfortable, I immediately backtracked. I was with a trusted friend who witnessed the entire thing. She can completely debunk this but requires a subpoena from the court due to her employer's policy.

2. The Stolen Gun: They alleged I had "knowledge of a stolen gun" to make me sound dangerous. The truth is, I was the one who proactively reported a stolen gun to the police. They are twisting my lawful cooperation with law enforcement into a threat.

3. Threats for Money: They claimed I threatened them with violence for money. This has never happened, and they have zero texts, voicemails, or proof of it because it is entirely fabricated.

The Weaponized Retaliation & Police Investigation:

The exact same day my ex filed his emergency motion to remove the kids from the sex offender's home, the uncle retaliated by filing a police complaint alleging that my son reported sexual abuse by his father. On that very same day, my ex also filed a formal complaint against DCFS with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) because multiple reports regarding a registered sex offender having physical custody of minors had been completely ignored by DCFS.

• A detective is actively investigating and has interviewed the children. My 14-year-old daughter completely denied all allegations. My 16-year-old son’s statements use language that does not make sense and strongly appears to be coached by the uncle to freeze the custody proceedings.

• There is no abuse by the father. A past rumor years ago was fully cleared and found to be a case of mistaken identity by a neighbor who was actually remembering the uncle’s past crimes, not my ex's.

My Questions:

1. How do I present the fact to the judge that the petitioner (the uncle) is a registered child sex offender who legally has no paternal relationship or standing over my 14-year-old daughter? Can I file an emergency motion to dismiss her from his OP entirely right there at the hearing?

2. What is the likelihood that the judge will grant me temporary supervised visitation or phone contact with my kids on Friday while we wait for the next hearing? What steps should I take at this initial appearance to maximize my chances of getting contact restored immediately?

3. What should I expect at the hearing on Friday? Given that there is an active police investigation based on a highly suspicious, retaliatory report, will an Illinois family court judge typically grant a continuance to wait for the detective’s final report?

4. How do I request a continuance specifically to have the court issue a subpoena for my third-party eyewitness to the parking lot incident?

5. How do I explain my past possession arrest and recovery status to the judge? Will my current stable housing, lack of any further legal trouble, and ongoing disability filing show enough progress to overcome that past relapse in the eyes of the court?

6. How can we request an immediate Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) to address the coached language my son is using and protect him from being forced into a residential home away from his sister?