San Diego
A fundamentalist Christian accused of taking her son from the custody of his homosexual father said she will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court a ruling that she stand trial on child-stealing charges.
The California Supreme Court, with Chief Justice Rose Bird dissenting, Thursday let stand a lower court ruling upholding the charge against Betty Lou Batey.
The charge was filed after Batey surrendered to authorities in Denver in April 1984, 19 months after she took her son, Brian, now 15, from the San Diego home of his father, Frank Batey.
Batey, who considers homosexuality a sin, had fled to a religious group in Denver.
Frank Batey had been awarded custody of his son in 1982 after a court struggle that centered on his ex-wife’s refusal to give him court-ordered visitation rights.
Last year, a Superior Court judge in San Diego dismissed the child stealing charges against Betty Lou Batey, saying they constituted double jeopardy since she had already served a 15-day sentence on contempt of court charges stemming from her flight.
The 4th District Court of Appeal reversed the ruling.
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