Judge Dismisses Child Theft Case Against Batey
A Superior Court judge dismissed a felony charge of child stealing against fundamentalist Christian Betty Batey on Monday, ruling that she was a victim of double jeopardy.
Batey, 40, had been scheduled to stand trial Monday on the felony charge, three months after she was convicted of civil contempt for spiriting her 13-year-old son out of California in September, 1982, and hiding him for 20 months.
The boy had been placed in the custody of Batey’s ex-husband, Frank Batey, who is homosexual. In the contempt trial, Mrs. Batey was convicted of violating a court order that prohibited her from taking the boy out of Southern California without court approval or her ex-husband’s consent.
Judge Earl H. Maas Jr. ruled Monday that the felony charge against Mrs. Batey placed her in double jeopardy because the elements of the civil and criminal cases were identical, as was the evidence presented by the prosecution.
Mrs. Batey will return to court on Feb. 15 for sentencing by another judge on her contempt conviction, for which she could receive up to 15 days in jail and a $3,000 fine.
The couple’s son has been placed in a foster home.
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