No Relief for Mom Who Labeled Kid Transgender

(CN) - The Kentucky Court of Appeals refused to restore custody to a mother who claimed that her 5-year-old daughter was transgender and would be raised as a boy.

Linda W. and David F. got married in 1992, divorced in 1996, married again in 2000, and divorced again in 2006. Their daughter, Jessica, was born in 2005. (Courthouse News has abbreviated the names of the parties out of consideration for the child.)

After David failed to appear at the custody hearing, a family court awarded Linda sole custody of Jessica and $500 per month in child support.

When Jessica was 5 years old, Linda announced that the child was transgender would dress and live as a boy named Bridge.

David notified the Calloway County Family Court of this development and made a motion to modify custody. In his motion, he noted that Linda had a history of raising unfounded concerns about Jessica's health, such as saying that the girl had problems with vision, hearing or speech, or suffered from Asperger's syndrome.

Agreeing that Linda had misdiagnosed Jessica with gender identity disorder, the court awarded David joint custody and named his the primary custodial parent.

Linda appealed, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed on Aug. 31.

"The record also reflects Linda's history of seeking out diagnoses for Jessica before she was even a year old," Judge James Lambert wrote for a three-member panel. "The court's findings related both to Linda's behavior, including her actions in dressing Jessica in boy clothing and giving her a boy haircut prior to visiting the first provider to diagnose her, as well as to Jessica's preferences, provide sufficient support for the decision that it would be in Jessica's best interest to name David as the residential parent, despite the trauma the change in custody would cause."

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