The trial of Nick and Carrie Nowatney continues this afternoon before Judge Mark Jones. The Nowatneys are being accused of child abuse by the State Dept. of Children and Families (DCF).
"We are on trial because we won't plead guilty," said Nick Nowatney.
Last September, when DCF officials learned that both of the Nowatney children— Natalie, 3, and Nathan, 1— had suffered broken arms within a year, they convinced Judge Sandra Taylor to order that the children be taken away and placed in a foster home. Nathan was still breastfeeding. No matter. They took him anyway.
"They told us at that time that if we would plead guilty and agree to a psychological evaluation, parenting classes and other `services,' such as periodic visits to our home by social workers, they would return our kids," Nick said.
"We were desperate to get our kids back, but we hadn't done anything wrong. The kids' injuries were accidental. We couldn't plead guilty."
So, for the next five months, the DCF shuffled the children between three different foster homes up and down the Keys. Finally, in February, Judge Jones signed an order allowing the children to stay with relatives, rather than strangers. And last month, he allowed the kids to return to the parents' home.
DCF workers are allowed to visit, but only with a military escort. Nick is a medic with an elite Army Special Forces unit assigned to the Naval Air Station here.
"They could have done that back in September," Nick said, "rather than holding our kids hostage. The only thing that's changed is that they now know they don't have a case."
The state presented its case March 27-30. Members of the DCF Child Protection Team testified that the kids' injuries "could" have been the result of child abuse.
On March 31, two medical experts testified for the defense. They said that while forearm breaks are common among children, they are not common in child abuse cases.
"Abused children commonly suffer fractures to the ribs, spine, collarbone and bones in the shoulder— not in the forearm," testified Dr. Harry Smith, one of the top experts in radiology and nuclear medicine in the country. He was selected by the US Government to testify in the Rodney King case.
Today, a witness for the defense is expected to be a psychologist who evaluated the Nowatneys at the request of the state. Originally, Assistant State Attorney Janine Gedmin had expected to call this witness to testify for the prosecution. But, reportedly, her evaluation was so favorable for the Nowatneys that Gedmin now doesn't want to call her.
"If time allows, we also want to call some of our neighbors and others who see our children often," said Carrie Nowatney, "people who know our children haven't been abused."