Court Awards Full Custody of James Younger to Mother Who Wants Him to Transition
A Texas father who has been battling the mother of his 8-year-old son over her plan to force him to be transformed into a girl has received a setback in court.
In the latest development in a bitter, years-long battle, Texas District Judge Mary Brown granted full custody of James Younger to Anne Georgulas, who has insisted that James identifies as a girl named Luna.
The ruling said the boy’s father, Jeffrey Younger, “failed to timely make the payments of child support, medical support and interest as ordered and only paid his past due support after the motion for enforcement was filed.”
The judge — a Democrat — then ruled that due to what she called Jeffrey Younger’s “unwillingness or inability to follow the order designed to serve the best interests of the children, the court finds that it is necessary for the health and safety of the children that Ms. Georgulas have the following exclusive rights on a temporary basis.”
Those rights include full custody rights to the boy.
Conscious of the long-running battle over gender, the judge’s ruling issued limits on what the child’s mother can do regarding medical issues, with the unusual emphasis of all-caps text.
The ruling gave Georgulas “the exclusive right to consent to medical, dental, and surgical treatment involving invasive procedures, EXCEPT THAT NEITHER PARENT MAY TREAT A CHILD WITH HORMONAL SUPPORESSION THERAPY, PUBERTY BLOCKERS, AND /OR [TRANSGENDER] REASSIGNMENT SURGERY (IF ANY) WITHOUT THE CONSENT OF THE PARENTS OR COURT ORDER.”
The court ruling shows the extent to which the parents disagree, saying that such things as the child’s haircut length are now the sole province of his mother.
The order further marginalizes the child’s father.
“The prior orders that Ms. Georgulas must notify Mr. Younger of doctor’s, counseling, or mental health appointments, or extracurricular activities for the children are lifted. In an effort to ensure the emotional well-being and physical safety of the children, the court orders that all of Mr. Younger’s possession periods shall be continuously supervised by Forensic Counseling Services … at Mr. Younger’s sole cost and expense,” the order said.
Calling the battle a “high-conflict case,” the judge appointed what amounts to a referee to ensure the order is followed, with each parent paying half the cost.
As might be expected, there was disagreement between the two sides after the ruling, according to The Texan.
“This is not about the child’s gender issues,” said attorney Jessica Janicek, who represents the child’s mother.
“This is just a high-conflict custody case, and you’re going to hear a lot of issues with regards to Jeff’s parenting abilities,” she said.
Younger, however, said all of the issues revolve around the mother’s insistence that his young son be transitioned into a girl.
“To downplay that this is but for the gender issue is absolutely misleading and wrong. This is all about the gender issue in this case. And it’s about the parents’ ability to cope with and deal with this situation,” said his attorney, David Hanschen.
Hanschen said “the system has been gamed” in terms of counseling sessions that are required.
“When the child is brought to [the counselors], the child comes from the mother’s custody and is always dressed up as a little girl,” the attorney said. “Dad only has possession on Fridays, and neither of the two professionals have office hours on Fridays.
“And so he thinks, and I would agree with him, that it’s really quite unfair that the presentation of the child to the counseling system is only done under the auspices and control of one parent.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
