Brenda Harness Thornton and Timothy Thornton were married and ended up getting a divorce. They had kids in their marriage. The trial judge initially gave physical custody to Brenda. Timothy filed for a modification and Brenda did not like what the trial judge did in his Order. Brenda appealed the case.

Should I Moved My Convicted Felon Boyfriend In My House With My Kids?

So, after the divorce, Brenda apparently moved her boyfriend into her house with her kids with Timothy. To top this off, Brenda’s boyfriend was a convicted felon. You can easily guess what is coming next.

Here is the legal mumbo jumbo from the Court:

Following a hearing on custody modification and termination of alimony, the Judge found that Tim had proved the following by a preponderance of the evidence: (1)Brenda was in a de facto marriage with her boyfriend Randy Jones; (2) Brenda’s relationship with Jones justified the termination of Tim’s monthly alimony payments; and (3) a substantial and material change in circumstances adverse to the parties’ minor children had occurred in Brenda’s home since the entry of the divorce judgment. With regard to his finding that an adverse material change had occurred, the chancellor placed great emphasis on the children’s exposure to Jones, a felon; J.T.’s failing grades; and Brenda’s failure to comply with the joint legal-custody obligations she owed to Tim.

Tim presented evidence that after the parties’ divorce, Brenda had begun a serious relationship with Jones, who had a prior felony conviction for armed robbery and aggravated assault. Tim subpoenaed Jones to testify, but Jones failed to appear at the hearing. Following Jones’s second failure to respond to the subpoena, the chancellor issued a bench warrant for Jones’s arrest. Upon questioning, Jones and Brenda provided conflicting testimony as to the nature and full extent of their relationship. The testimony of both witnesses reflected, however, that Jones spent considerable time at Brenda’s home and exerted a great deal of influence over the parties’ children.

In addition to expressing concern over the children’s exposure to Jones, the chancellor found that the children had demonstrated increased academic problems since the divorce and that Brenda had violated Tim’s right to joint legal custody. The evidence established that after the divorce, Brenda failed to identify Tim as a parent or emergency contact on the children’s school-enrollment and emergency-contact forms. Due to Brenda’s actions, Tim had to provide proof that he was a legal guardian and shared joint legal custody with Brenda before the children’s schools would discuss their grades and conduct with him. Brenda also admitted that while she completely omitted Tim’s name and contact information from the school forms,she identified Jones as the children’s stepfather and provided his phone number for emergency-contact purposes. Tim’s evidence further showed that Brenda failed to inform him of multiple school-related concerns regarding the children, such as J.T.’s falling grades and T.T.’s disciplinary issues. In addition, Tim testified that without his knowledge or consent, Brenda had enrolled J.T. in a school located in another district. Tim stated that he13onlylearned about the improper school enrollment when a conflict with his summer visitation arose. Moreover, Tim presented evidence that Brenda failed to timely apprise him of certain school events and medical issues involving the children. Based on such evidence,we find no manifest error or abuse of discretion in the chancellor’s determination that an adverse material change had occurred since the entry of the divorce judgment.

How To Lose Custody Of Your Kids

So the Mississippi Appeals Court found the trial judge was right. Why? Because you can’t move your boyfriend in with you and your kids especially if he is a convicted felon. This is especially so if you let your kids make bad grades in school.

You can read the full case below: