Deputies sue mother for custody

By David Jaques

Roseburg, OR- It hasn’t even been a full month since Ajay Pichette got her daughter Nakota (Kota) back home, following a four year battle with Oregon’s Department of Human Services (DHS).

Kota is settling in nicely to her new routine, according to her Mother, after begin taken from her at only seven weeks old.

Kimberly Root, Photo: FacebooThe case has been to the Oregon Court of appeals twice, and in October of 2011 the court terminated all jurisdiction of the state. This would normally been followed by an immediate return to mother, but the state, this time joined by foster parents Mike and Kim Root, both Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies, filed yet another petition to keep Nakota from her family.

After several more hearings and much legal wrangling, Judge Randy Garrison issued the final order to return Kota to her mother, thus putting an end to the custodial battle waged by the state and the Roots.

At least that’s what Ajay and Kareen LaValley, Ajay’s court appointed lawyer, thought.

That all changed on Monday, February 6, just a week before Ajay planned to celebrate her first ever Valentine’s Day with her daughter.

There was a knock on the front door of Ajay’s Roseburg home just after 10:00 am that morning. She was at first reluctant to open the door, not recognizing the person. Butthen she noticed a man peering through the window of her car parked in the driveway.

Mikel Root, Photo: Douglas County SheriffShe proceeded outside to ask what he was doing. He then asked if she was Ajay Pichette and handed her a summons to appear in court.

This time it wasn’t the state of Oregon attempting to take Kota, but the state appointed foster parents Mike and Kim Root suing Ajay for custody of her daughter.

Ajay and her husband Robert Pichette have another child, Kota’s half-brother, 2 year old Liam. The family is referred to in the Roots lawsuit, not as Kota’s parents, but her “caretaker”.

The suit alleges that, in spite of the state’s failure to prove anything to the contrary, “Ms. Pichette” and presumably her husband Robert are “unwilling or unable to care adequately” for her own daughter.

One statement in the petition to the court is that Kota calls Kim and Mike, “Mom and Dad”. Ajay told the Beacon that since her daughter’s return the exact opposite is the case. She refers to the Roots as Kim and Mike.

The former foster parents have attempted to correct her. Not only did they tell the four year old to call them Mom and Dad but also that Ajay should be called by her first name.

Kim Root previously testified in open court that she wanted Kota to go anywhere but home to her mother.

Kareen LaValley, with the public defender’s office, told the Beacon “I’ve never in my life seen anything like this.”

LaValley is no longer able to represent Mr. and Mrs. Pichette as the suit brought by the two county employees is a civil matter.

Ajay meanwhile has less than thirty days to find counsel and file a response with the court, or the Roots could succeed in their efforts to get custody of her daughter by default.

Ajay was devastated by the most recent attempt to take her child, as she was starting to believe the nightmare had truly come to an end. She now plans to hire counsel but doesn’t know how she will afford the legal fees which will mount rapidly. Members of the community have already vowed to start a legal defense fund on her behalf.

Reprinted with permission from the Roseburg Beacon News, Vol.5- Issue 6 February 8, 2012