Heartbreaking Guardianship Hearing - mom wants her daughter back! 

"it's a family matter" is textbook abuser mentality as well as is her blaming the 8 year old for being innappropiate with her 23 year old uncle

Hats off for the guardian. She is a special person for caring, loving and assuring Brooklyn has a stable home life.

Honestly, I don’t think you could dream up a better guardian than Melissa. Sounds like a phenomenal woman and mother. This little girl deserves to stay exactly where she is and will be safe.

I can tell you right now- if ANYONE- brother, father, fiancé, etc- put their hands on my daughter- if I don’t off them myself- my first call is to the law. Why would you not? Why would you need days to decide that’s the right thing to do? Sounds like she’d have rather protected the brother than her young, innocent daughter. Makes me absolutely sick

It was really heartwarming to see the mom show her gratitude to the child's guardian and give her credit for the kid's success, stability and... OH WAIT, that was me. Nevermind.

Mom tried to put on a tough face but you can tell she’s feeling uncomfortable, embarrassed and humiliated as her pathetic mothering was discussed, especially in front of the new guy. And she deserves every bit of it.

The executive decision to contact Ms Sanders is literally the only, and best, thing she has done for her daughter.

My heart breaks for this poor baby. Incompetent mother, abused by her uncle, ingested meth at 3 years old, moving around to different caregivers. I hope the rest of her life is stable and filled with love.

The moment she said "it was a family matter" was just the biggest indicator that she isn't putting her child first. The only people that use that phrase in cases like this want to sweep it under the rug and play stupid.

Did anyone else feel like the mom was, light weight, blaming the daughter for the SA?

Not once did I hear her say, I want her home because I love her. She gave every other reason, mostly self serving but not one word about love.

So she let's a guy who's still married move in with her and then gets pregnant when she knows she's going to try to get her daughter back? Great choices

How sad is it for Mrs. Sanders, sending this child she loves and cares about to her bio mother for a Summer visit, only for her to come back to her damaged. Ugh, my heart for this baby. 💔 This will effect her the rest of her life. I hope she stays with her guardian permanently. I see Mrs. Sanders making sure this child receives counseling, and all the support she needs. It’s questionable what the bio mom would do for her, if she was in her care. She’s going to have her plate full when that new baby arrives.

If you’re fighting for custody for your child, this is NOT how act in court.

Now that mom is working at Pepsi she should start paying child support to the guardian.

Another unrelated man in this child’s life is a TERRIBLE IDEA and she’s pregnant again… IT is not a hard decision to evict someone who assaulted your child.

This chick is ridiculous, 10 minutes and I had heard enough, I'd always wonder why people lose the rights to their kids, but now I see why! Thank God for the guardian mrs. Sanders! 😍

Watching the boyfriend testify was like watching a car accident as it happened.

“She’s never not wanted to be with me” That’s truly heartbreaking. Because despite all the crazy shit she’s been through because of the rift raft you’ve been involved in - she’s still been wanting to be in your care. Kids want to be with their mom no matter what they put them through.

And 8 year old sitting next to her uncle isn’t alarming to a family that is healthy. It’s alarming to her because she knew what was going on

That boyfriend is super shady, and obviously went straight from his wife and sons to live and impregnate a drug addict who can’t even take care of herself let alone a baby. Absolutely ridiculous.

This mom is the reason why CPS exist 😢. I feel sorry for her daughter

Can I just applaud Mrs Grimes. She is absolutely in top of her game!

Her getting pregnant again is pretty definitive-shows absolutely that her judgement is still very, very bad.

This is a perfect example of someone who takes zero accountability and should never have custody of a child.

The fact she didn't report her daughter's abuse as soon as she found out tells you she doesn't put that child first. She hasn't had her child for over 4 years and this is going to turn out to be termination of her rights, as it should

Her only witness is her boyfriend of less than a year. His proof of her being a responsible parent is that she raised her credit score. And now I just heard him say she is expecting another child.

Hey, I haven't been a mother to my child for six years but now I want to be! While I'm at it I'm going to blame my daughter for my brother SA-ing her. Unbelievable.

If she cared about her daughters well being she'd leave her where she is. She's doing well there and is in a stable environment

You know this happened with me. When my children were very small I had a mental health crisis. I just couldn't function at all. I called cps myself and asked for help. They took them out of my home and into foster care where they were well cared for. I worked hard. I got on meds and cleaned my house and got better.they were returned in two weeks and never left my home again. I meAn obviously this situation is more severe but I can tell you those two weeks were hell and I worked my butt off. That's how a mom who loves her kids acts. And my husband was and is a great father but he worked a lot. However he did help me get back on track. My kids are grown now and they are amazing kids and are well bonded with me n my husband

She is absolutely in denial of the truth of the abuse on that child. She is disturbing to hear from. SA drugs being left for a baby to take and she still thinks she is fit.

Even if you exclude the countless reasons why she’s unfit, if you *ONLY* were to look at the testimony of the boyfriend, that’s enough to tell me she has no business being a parent. I see one or two angry commenters trying to berate everyone else’s perception about this woman and interestingly enough, those people are filled with vile insults and accusations towards everyone else and I can’t help but shake my head at it, because I would much rather be labeled 100 foul names, then *EVER* risk the life of an innocent child. I do not care what this woman has “done” to supposedly better her life. This is not about HER. This is about a 9 year old little girl that didn’t ask for any of this. If this mother really did better her entire life and was actually ready to parent her daughter, then she would not have brought her boyfriend to the hearing to give a testimony that was full of lies and BS. He sounded like an absolute dunce the entire time he spoke and it’s because you need a really good memory in order to lie to the court. This is not about “everyone makes mistakes and no parent is perfect”. This is about a mother who’s shown over and over again that she will put her own needs ahead of her child. She is ALREADY in a new relationship with a man that she hasn’t even known a year, who moved in with her immediately and got her pregnant and both of them had just gotten out of their previous relationships. That is highly indicative of an unstable and emotionally immature person. Jumping from relationship to relationship when you have children and jumping straight into living together is a massive red flag, for good reason. If her daughter was her first priority, she wouldn’t be in any serious relationship, SORRY. Her daughter would be her *ONLY* focus. Then there’s the simple fact that she can’t even maintain a weekly phone call to her daughter! The most simple task as a parent and she can’t manage it. I do not care if every person in the world slapped me with a “judgmental b*tch” label for believing this woman doesn’t deserve her children, because the only thing that matters is that child being safe and loved. If you’re comfortable gambling with a child’s life, that says more about you than this does about me. She is a deadbeat, period. If this were a father, I know the few naysayers in the comments would be singing a different tune. 🙄 I do not feel bad for her, it’s time to grow up and get your shit together.

I'm proud of Sierra for testifying and being very truthful about the family dynamics at present.

This mom is horrible. She should never get custody.

Mrs Hanson-Grimes is a hero! She truly cares about children.

That boyfriend really exposed himself here as well and that says so much about the mother as well. I am OK with unconventional relationships but not when there’s kids involved.

Ok, now I've gotten to watch the rest. So, the girl was assaulted when she was with mom over this past summer. The mom not only thinks she deserves her back but wants to bring her back into the home she was violated?!?!?!? I wouldn't even think of making my child move back to the house she was hurt in. Good grief!! The judge made a wonderful point when she said mom could have moved closer to the child to start bonding with her.

I just LOVE the guardian and the Aunt! They are adamently protective, supportive, and absolutely love this child and are and have focused on what is best for her.

I’m shocked they are still going through the system and haven’t ended her rights all together after this amount of time.

mom: it was a family matter attorney: so you're saying it was a family matter mom: No, you're twisting my words

She maybe shouldn’t be banned from the child’s life wholly, but 100% the child should be able to be adopted into the other home.

Praying for the sweet girl having to deal with this. It’s incredibly not fair. Also, it’s clear to me that Melissa S. genuinely loves her and considers her part of the family. It hurts my heart to know how many children go thru this everyday. 🙏💔

You can tell she's told herself she's a great Mom who has made good decisions the whole 9 years. Oh, and because she has not "lost her rights". It's born from Ego and not truly caring for what's best. A healthy physically functional adult woman should feel providing for and caring for her child herself in a safe environment IS what's best.

Well done Ms Grimes, champion for a quality life for this innocent child.

The judge smiling when the boyfriend dug himself deeper into the hole was delicious 😂

Zero accountability for all the permanent harm she has caused this child!!! Not to mention all the trauma and life long struggles that poor little girl will have to navigate. Hopefully with the love and support of her caregivers. She will be happy and able to have a childhood💖💖💖

She leaves the meeting and the boyfriend remains. Dedicated mom. The Mom is so out of touch with reality she can even see her accomplishments are minimal at best.. she says she can afford the child, but hasn't provided one dime for the child. Now she's pregnant again. I hope they keep an eye on her

If a CHILD has ingested METH, whoever the caregiver is at the time that happened should NEVER get custody of said child again. I am actually very forgiving and do believe in second chances but there are circumstances that just do not get a second chance. That is a hard line for me. I celebrate people who recover from addiction! I am not saying you should never see your child again, just that it has to be 1 million percent certain that could never happen again! ❤️

Wow. Mr. Mohawk went from solid citizen to scumbag in about 10 minutes.

Mom wasn’t even present after hearing the news that she wouldn’t be getting custody. Pretty telling that this was all about what SHE wanted and not was best for the kid

Sobriety and recovery are two VERY different things. She may be white knuckling it and not using but she definitely hasn’t changed her mindset. In recovery you have to be fully accountable and completely transparent. Both of which this female is NOT. As a recovering addict AND a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, my heart breaks for this little girl. She got robbed. I hope she is kept safe from this point on. And I pray for her healing for the sake of her future.

This is absolutely insanity. Her use of the english language is impressive. I have to say I loved Ms. Grimes' closing and her examination of the boyfriend. The Judge did her best to to keep a straight face. It's a great trainwreck for us to watch, but that poor little girl stuck in the middle, I feel terrible for her.

I'm only a little way in but have to say she knew the uncle (her brother) was problematic. I don't care if my girls come out of the shower in front of their dad and older brothers who are in their 20's, in a towel. They don't look at them as anything other than little sisters. If she is worried about an 8 year old in a towel, then she's worried about the adult being a perv. Ugh. Poor little girl.

It's fascinating when someone brings in a witness... unless he was subpoenaed, and their own witness ends up sinking them further. I was literally getting prickly with embarrassment for him over the boyfriend's testimony. That said, I have a few long time friends who are addicts, and two of them completely turned their lives around successfully in the family lives and careers. One still can't get it together 10 years after losing their custody of her son. I'm all for reunification when it's right. People change. But it's not always right. And this girl isn't ready for children. I fear for her new baby.

This child has a loving family in a safe home- with all moms love, hopefully one day she sees that’s the best decision she made for her daughter was giving Melissa Sanders guardianship. This Judge made a Child first decision⚖️👏🙏🏼

See a normal uncle niece relationship doesn’t throw red flags when a niece is snuggling up next to her uncle (DRESSED OF COURSE!)! As many healthy male relationships as a young lady can have only increases her ability to become a well rounded woman who will marry a man who loves, respects, cherishes her as she him!

Just the fact that the mother stormed off when she realised that she wasn’t going to get her way speaks volumes in my eyes, if her daughter comes first in your life, the least you can do is sit there and take notes to what the court is saying so you can better your relationship with her! No, you have to stomp off and pout because you’ll be damned if you actually have to do more to get her back because it’s just not fair, grow up girl and see what the best thing is for your daughter, not just for you! I raised three kids on my own and had a heroin problem for half of their life but never had child services involved nor had jail time because I put my kids first, many sacrifices were made and ultimately I gave up using as well because it just wasn’t working for me and my children! You must have been super messy for your child to ingest meth, seriously? And then have your brother SA her? Dude, super messy!😡

She is already pregnant with this new man. She is defensive, confrontational and does not take proper responsibility for what has happened to her daughter. She seems to have a long way to go before I would feel safe to return her daughter to her. There also seems to be a lot of anger simmering under the surface instead of regret or determination to do better. She would have done better to leave the boyfriend out of it. He only made it look like they were both less than capable.

Sometimes, it doesn’t take much to set your intuition danger button off. Within a few minutes of the mother’s testimony, I was ok with termination of her rights. Not a whole lot more needed here…except to keep this little girl safe from mother and the people she hangs with.

Her married boyfriend comes to court with a Mohawk to support her!!! 😂

When you genuinely love a child, they automatically thrive....

I think she has ulterior motives for getting Brooklyn back. I think she REALLY wants to be able to keep her new baby! Knowing if she gets Brooklyn back, DHS will look more favorably on her having custody of her future newborn.

She is incapable of providing a safe environment for herself much less her daughter. This man she’s with is the second man within a year and I would bet that she doesn’t know his real name if he has a record or has he ever been investigated for a sexual misconduct charge.

Every time this so-called "mother" opens her mouth is to change feet. She is her own worst enemy and is making the case for the prosecution!

39:58 she’s raised her credit score and got knocked up again…I just can’t with her 🤦‍♀️

OMG this is absolutely HORRIFIC!!! She is in no way a mom to that poor girl and in no way should have ANY contact. Shame on her for putting her daughter thru this! She's in a safe home now so LEAVE Her Alone to heal , my goodness such selfishness 😢

She wants her daughter back now, because her married boyfriend has his kids. It's all about the curb appeal to this mom.. This child deserved her CURRENT living situation. She has a great home life, leave her alone and let her be happy and safe.

She just wants the child back do she can tell everyone " look, I'm not a bad mom after all ".

This woman truly is a unfit parent! I pray for her little girl and hope she’s always safe and away from this woman Mind blown by this lady expecting anyone to give her custody back

She’s aggressively in denial

This woman is pregnant living with her father, and has brought another new man into that home who has had 3 DUIs. So with a new baby, the mother is not going to be able to focus on a 9-year-old. This new guy has not been vetted and he has three other children he has to take care of and is still married. No…Ms. Young is not ready or able to care for Brooklyn. She is so far from ready - it is scary!

When the mother was asked if she has given the foster parents any money for her child that she’s trying to get back she says “no I have not” she sounded so proud of it. And also her saying that the foster parents haven’t asked her for anything I don’t understand how some parents can say such a thing, like why does someone have to ask you to help take care of your child, they shouldn’t have to ask for money or anything. She should provide the stuff her child may need or want, common sense. Children are expensive and will always need things, for example clothes and shoes because they grow so fast not including food, medicine, insurance.

They fact that neither mom or BF shows any insight into the wreckage caused by drugs, sexual assault and parental neglect is the entire reason the daughter should not be in their care...I hope they drug test when mom goes to give birth so CPS can protect new baby before the meth, SA, etc

The judges decision was so thoughtful and the reasoning was so thorough.

As a felon in recovery, these court cases on zoom are so frickin addictive, digital crack 😂

Everything about this case is chaos and the mother does not deserve this baby girl. But as an adult whom was SAd by my father, I was always very cautious of my daughter being around anyone naked. You never know what anyone’s thoughts are. No one would’ve known that my Dad was the monster he was.

The boyfriend is just as delusional as she is: "I only drink occasionally." - "I've only had a public intoxication." - "I had a couple DUIs, they slipped my mind." - "I have 3 kids we co-parent." - "Yes I live here we are starting a family." - Court: Sir, are you still married? - *hangs his head* "Yeah." I really wonder why she's trying? Maybe she's been told she can't continue the free rent at the parents (where she has an entire floor) unless she gets her kid back. Or...maybe she's afraid by not having her first child CPS could step in and take her 2nd. I can't say that would make me too sad.

She’s pregnant again! Why on earth do people continue to procreate when they don’t already care for the children they have?! I will never understand.

That boyfriend and mom are a total trainwreck.

Mercy, she's pregnant again(by a married man) even tho he said they've been living together for only 4-5 months. More great decisions she's made for her daughter's wellbeing.

1:00:07 They will literally TERMINATE her rights. I don’t know why she thinks she has unlimited “chances“. 😢.

Thank goodness that child has her guardian. Mom seems like she’s trying but truly didn’t understand why it’s necessary. She also accepts no responsibility for the child two huge incidents that occurred in her care. The fact that the mom rage quit speaks volumes to me. Hopefully she can pull herself together for the baby

I have to believe that new dude got his eyes opened during this hearing. She does not need to have any more children. Thank God for the Guardian!

Anyone else catch the smirk on the judges face when he said he was still married???😂😂😂

57:22 Sad to think mom agrees with the child’s perception, “if I just had a car and a house, I could have my daughter back“. If only it was that simple, I suppose. 😢 🙏🏼🥺

Maybe I missed it but, did the mother ever discuss their bond or say she loved her? This was definitely about mom reaping a"reward" for being "good". She minimized the major safety concerns as well. I'm glad this child has a good family behind her!

So mom wants to uproot her daughter from the home, friends, and activities she has to a place where mom smokes inside (while pregnant) and was the setting for her assault?! GTFO.

He literally said he had no charges related to drugs or alcohol 🤣 and has 3 DUIs…wild.

This woman is knocked up again HELL NO is child would be stuck taking care of the baby

I watched 11 minutes and 46 seconds and turned it off. The minute she said she didn't report her brother to the police I was done

Omg he did something and she didn’t go right to the cops 😞 and so the cycle begins. that poor baby. She needs to be out of that kid’s life.

So very sad. This young woman obviously has very little education. Her vocabulary is so limited she has great difficulty communicating. This little girl deserves better!

I would willing to bet that Samantha and Kenny will be in the same boat in court. Custody hearings for or against each other. Also, I would have beat CJ’s ass when I found out about the”confession”! The testimony of the mother was mind blowing! The look on all their faces were Kodak moments!

What's really traumatic is when parents do the right thing contact law enforcement when abuse happens and nothing comes of it. In our town there was a very small child who was brutally rpd by an adult. She had to go through extensive physical examinations that found nothing. She had to testify. The jury found him not guilty. The reason is his criminal history was withheld. He had already been arrested and done time prior for other abuse of children. But unfortunately the jury was not allowed to know any of that. The system what that child down.

She deserves to have a safe, responsible parent and home.

Mom seems to have a bit of an attitude and a chip on her shoulder.

This mom should never have a child and failed her child at every turn. She is a horrible mother and her brother I won’t even start

Mom is anything but that! She failed to protect the child when the child needed it the most. She had her in a home that placed the child into a situation that resulted in a SA on the child. She should never get the child back. She showed how grown up she isn't by not sitting and listening to the judge. She walked and that shows who she really is.

My dad used to say he was coming and not show up. As an adult I still can have extreme emotional responses if someone I care about does anything similar, and I just know not to react to how I’m feeling (not to take it out on the person). After this happened a few times my mom stopped telling me my dad was coming. Poor Brooklyn 💔

I have 3 of a relatives children. I am saddened and angry at parents who put their “ fun” etc. over their children’s well-being. 🥺