Mother May Appeal : Homosexual Father Wins Custody Fight for Son, 15

A bitter, four-year custody fight between a fundamentalist mother and homosexual father over their 15-year-old son has ended with a San Diego judge awarding custody to the father.

The decision by Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell, made in a closed juvenile hearing on June 18 and made public in a Palm Springs newspaper last weekend, drew criticism from Christian fundamentalists.

“We feel that the Scripture is very plain about how God feels about the aberration known as homosexuality,” said David Gray, pastor of Revival Pentecostal Tabernacle in San Diego, which has fervently backed the mother, Betty Lou Batey, a member of the church.

“God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” Gray said. “We’re very disappointed. This decision means homosexuality is becoming more acceptable in our society . . . to the detriment of our society.”

Frank Batey, 42, won custody of his son, Brian, despite the contention of his former wife that his homosexuality made him an unfit parent.

Batey, who now lives in Palm Springs, told the Desert Sun of Palm Springs newspaper, “I hope the fact Craig (Corbett, Batey’s lover) and I stuck with this case despite wild and unsubstantiated accusations by right-wing religious groups will give encouragement to other parents, both gay and straight, to stand up for their rights and their children’s rights in court.”

“If a bitter ex-spouse brings up homosexuality,” he said, “judges seem to apply the brakes to fairness and equal application of the law.”

Mrs. Batey, 42, was out of the state and unavailable for comment, but Gray, her pastor, said she is considering an appeal.

“She hasn’t made any decision yet, that’s why she’s away thinking about it, but my personal feeling is that she should (appeal),” Gray said. “She feels it is going to come out (fine) yet . . . in God’s glory.”

Gray confirmed that the court order granting Batey custody allows Mrs. Batey twice a month visitation rights.

Sanford Troy, a San Diego lawyer who represented the teen-ager, said he could not comment on the case because of confidentiality in the juvenile court proceeding.

Mrs. Batey was represented by attorneys from the Washington, D.C., Christian group called Concerned Women for America. Cimron Campbell, one of the lawyers, said in a telephone interview from Austin, Tex., that the judge had imposed a gag order preventing principals in the case from making statements about the matter “in order to protect the best interests of the boy.”

But Campbell, commenting generally on homosexuality and the court system, said, “I personally find it reprehensible you could have a situation like this and not even have homosexuality considered.”

“It (homosexuality) has no meaning, carries no weight, involves no consequences as far as court personnel are concerned, yet it’s bound to have certain effects and ramifications when it comes to children,” Campbell said.

Once it becomes common knowledge in a community that a minor is living in a homosexual household, “you can imagine the peer pressure there, and that’s bound to have at least some negative consequences,” said Campbell.

James Walsh, a Los Angeles attorney who represented Frank Batey during most of the custody battle--but not in juvenile court--said, “I’m elated for him. We felt he always should have had custody.” Walsh said Batey, a writer, has represented himself in legal proceedings for the last year.

The Bateys, who met when they were both members of the United Pentecostal Church in San Diego, were married in 1969, and Brian was four when they divorced in 1975. Mrs. Batey, who had two older children from a previous marriage, was granted custody of the boy in the divorce and her husband was given visitation rights.

But by 1980, Mrs. Batey refused to allow her son to visit her father. Batey took the matter to court, and in August, 1982, a San Diego Superior Court judge gave Batey custody.

About two weeks later, Mrs. Batey picked up Brian for a scheduled weekend visit, and the two then disappeared for 19 months.

The case attracted nationwide attention in April, 1984, when Mrs. Batey was jailed for 13 days in Denver for refusing to disclose her son’s whereabouts. She was released when Brian came out of hiding.

Mrs. Batey was sentenced in February, 1985, to 15 days in jail and fined $3,000 on three counts of civil contempt for taking her son out of Southern California without permission.

The jail sentence was suspended and the judge also suspended Mrs. Batey’s fine for one year on the condition she follow court instructions.

In a November, 1984, court session, Judge McConnell had criticized Mrs. Batey for “exacerbating” her son’s psychological problems and for influencing the boy’s negative attitude toward homosexuals.

During the 19 months that Brian spent in hiding with his mother, he did not attend school. As a result, the judge said that tests show the boy “regressed intellectually” and “deteriorated emotionally.” Brian stayed in foster homes while the courts were deciding the case.