Editor,
Father’s Day is fast approaching, but many children will not be allowed to see their non-custodial fathers on this holiday as a result of alienating mothers. Utah law provides non-custodial fathers time with their children on this day and further provides penalties for any intentional act of custodial interference.
Unfortunately, these laws are rarely enforced, overly ignored, and often abused by a malicious and alienating parent in most instances. Law enforcement agencies are not trained on how to determine violation of these laws, and rather than determine any violation, refer custodial disputes back to family courts. Family court judges rarely award any makeup time to the victimized parent and child, opting instead to threaten innocuous contempt orders that do nothing but encourage the malicious parent to further alienate the child.
Many Utahns will silently watch this Father’s Day as their brother, uncle, father, or son goes through this holiday without access to their child, and without any effective recourse to stop the continued denial, and interference of parent time by the child’s mother. Show support for non-custodial fathers and their children; encourage equal parenting, enforcement of parent time, and prosecution of custodial interference.
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