PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
AGAINST
DEFENDANT
____________________________________________
MOTION FOR A STAY OF TEMPORARY ORDER OF PROTECTION PENDING APPEAL _____________________________________________
State of New York, County of Kings ss.:
Ismail Sloan, being duly sworn, deposes and says.
1. I make this affidavit in support of a motion for an order to show cause and for a stay of the order of protection dated June 17, 1997. This order of protection is utterly without basis and has the effect of depriving me of the custody of my children, Michael Rankoth Sloan, George Rankoth Sloan and Anusha Rankoth Sloan, and of evicting me from my place of residence, all without notice or a hearing or without any due process of law whatever.
2. I believe that the judge who issued the temporary order of protection probably did not know that Michael Rankoth Sloan, George Rankoth Sloan and Anusha Rankoth Sloan, are my three children and that Dayawathie Rankoth is my legal wife. I married Dayawathie Rankoth at the headquarters of the ministry which issues marriage licenses in Colombo, Sri Lanka (the "Colombo Kacherie") on August 9, 1989. She became pregnant virtually on our wedding night (as I had to leave Sri Lanka the next day) and gave birth to our son, George, on April 28, 1990, not quite nine months later. I provided a copy of our marriage certificate to Sebastian Ike of the New York Child Welfare Administration when that agency was investigating this case in 1991.
3. Since June, 1991, I have been continually harassed by an organization called Sanctuary for Families, Inc., of which Dorchen Leidholdt is the director. This is a semi-secret organization. It took me a long time and required considerable investigation even to find out the name of this organization. Only within the past three months, I learned the name of Dorchen Leidholdt, the director. I still to this day have never seen any of them and would not recognize them if I saw any of them on the street. (Dorchen Leidholdt had her photograph published in the June, 1985 issue of Hustler Magazine, but, alas, the New York Public Library does not keep back issues of that magazine. She sued Larry Flynt for the improper display of her photograph, but lost. Dorchen Leidholdt v. Larry Flynt Publications et al, 860 F.2d 890 (9th Cir. 1988).)
4. From June, 1991 until March, 1995, Dorchen Leidholdt and Sanctuary for Families, Inc. kept my three children hidden from me and also from various city agencies including the Child Welfare Administration and the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, both of which were investigating the mother and her treatment of these children. I was told by Sebastian Ike and his supervisor, Mrs. Richardson, that they were planning to institute proceedings to remove the children from their mother, as soon as they could locate the mother and the children. They never found them, because they were being shuttled around to various "safe houses" operated by Sanctuary for Families, Inc.
5. In March, 1995, I finally located my wife and three children through the Internet. They were living in the McKinley Project, a New York City Housing Project located at 905 Tinton Road, Apt. 4D, Bronx NY. When I arrived, they immediately invited me in. Dayawathie introduced me to my daughter, Anusha, who had never seen me before, and to our son, George, who had not seen me since the age of one. They had been told that their father was dead. I lived with them in their apartment for the next few weeks. I had to return to California, so Dayawathie asked me to take the two boys, Michael and George, to California, because they were rambunctious and difficult to control. I gave Dayawathie $400 in consideration for allowing me to take my two sons to California. She bought them a new set of clothing for the trip. She told me to make sure not to let Sister Theresa Courtney of Sanctuary for Families know that we were there.
6. After about three weeks in California, I tried to enroll Michael and George in public school. I tried to put them in the same school in Alameda California which another daughter of mine, Jessica, was attending. I also asked for assistance from the Social Services Agency in California.
7. The school in Alameda, California notified the school in Bronx which the boys had been attending. The California Social Services Agency notified the New York City Department of Social Services that the children were in California. They both notified Sister Theresa Courtney. The New York City Department of Social Services notified Dayawathie Rankoth that her welfare check and food stamps would be cut because the children were no longer in New York.
8. As a result, Sanctuary for Families Inc. had me arrested in California on the obviously bogus allegation of kidnapping. They had the children picked up in California and extradited to New York. However, I was never charged with any crime. I was never produced in any court. I never saw any judge. I was simply placed under a "hold for investigation" which is legal in California but is not allowed in New York.
9. By the time I got out, the children were back in New York. Also, Sanctuary for Families had found out that, during my stay in New York, Dayawathie had become pregnant with our fourth child, so they took her to an abortion clinic and had our baby aborted. This happened in June, 1995. Dayawathie almost immediately became pregnant with a baby from an unknown father, and her fourth baby was born on June 9, 1996.
10. I returned again to New York in early, 1996. I lived for several months with my wife and three children at 905 Tinton Avenue, Bronx NY. In April, 1996, Sister Theresa Courtney found out that I was again living with my wife and children, so she forced them to move to safe house near Fort Hamilton Parkway in Brooklyn and to give up their apartment in the Bronx. She was able to force them to do this, because Dayawathie is an illegal alien in America. She has no passport, no visa, no green card, no social security card and no documents of any kind. I have never had a chance to regularize her status in America because of Sanctuary for Families constantly moving her around and hiding her in various safe houses. Sanctuary for Families obviously has no incentive to try to help her, because if they do so and she gets her own green card, they will lose control over her and over the children. Also, Sanctuary for Families provides her with money and at the same time threatens her that if she does not do what they say, they will report her to child protective services and have the children taken away from her and have her deported to Sri Lanka. Sister Charlotte, in particular, has made this threat repeatedly.
11. Dayawathie and the children were held in two different safe houses from April to September, 1996. Dayawathie gave birth to Geeta during this period. In September, 1996, they were provided with a new apartment in the Johnson Housing Project, 1581 Park Avenue, Apt. 4G, New York NY 10029.
12. On the same day as they moved in, Dayawathie called me at work and told me her new address. I came there. When I arrived I found Anusha, our 4 year old daughter, to be seriously ill. I picked her up in my arms and carried her to Metropolitan Hospital, more than 10 blocks away. She was diagnosed as being seriously dehydrated. Anusha was admitted to the hospital and stayed there for five days. Actually, the hospital did not want to release her even after five days because of the condition she had been in when she arrived. They told me that if I had not brought her to the hospital that night, she might have died.
13. Since then, the children on numerous occasions have had to be taken to Metropolitan Hospital. Always, I take the children. Dayawathie never takes them, except when Dayawathie is the one who is sick. Dayawathie has a variety of ailments. She only weights 82 pounds! She frequently has to go to the hospital. When she goes, I stay at home and take care of the children.
14. During the nearly four years when Dayawathie was stating at 905 Tinton Avenue, Apt. 4D in the Bronx, Dayawathie had become involved with numerous crack addicts and dealers who were living in the same project. The names of some of these crack addicts included Julie, Jean, Brenda, Angie and Veronica. Dayawathie also got involved with loan sharks named Panama and Pappy. Julie, Jean and Brenda are prostitutes. These individuals often used her apartment for their illegal dealings. She used them as baby sitters. The police were watching her apartment. On one occasion, Angie was arrested for crack immediately after leaving Dayawathie's apartment. On another occasion, Brenda was arrested for crack immediately upon leaving Dayawathie's apartment. The loan sharks such as Panama would make loans to these crack addicts, secured by their welfare cards. Panama would keep the card. When their check day arrived, Panama would show up at his creditor's apartment early in the morning, knock on the door, and escort the person to the check cashing place and stand with the card while the person collected her welfare money. Panama would take the money and keep the card until the debt was paid off. The rate of interest was 100% per month. If Panama loaned $50, then, on the check day, Panama would collect $100.
15. Dayawathie frequently borrowed money from Panama. Dayawathie is totally irresponsible when it comes to money. She spends whatever she has before she goes to sleep at night. If she collects a welfare check for $187.00, she will spend that entire money and not have a penny left before she goes to sleep.
16. When I moved into the apartment, I started giving her money ever day. I did not have much choice. She went through my pockets while I was sleeping every night and took all my money, leaving me with only one token to get to work the next morning. Because of my giving her money every day, she stopped borrowing money from Panama and Pappy. Panama was beaten up and nearly killed when trying to collect money from a elderly welfare recipient and no longer operates in that area.
17. When Dayawathie was moved by Sanctuary for Families Inc. to 1581 Park Avenue, that did not end the problem. To the contrary, the group she had been involved with simply moved to her new apartment. Julie, Jean and Brenda simply moved into Dayawathie's apartment and started living there. I could do nothing about this. A problem developed when Dayawathie acquired a boyfriend from Bangladesh named "Jimmy". (I have been told that his real name is Jabbar.) My children complained that Jimmy was having sex with their mother on the couch. All three children have complained about being hit by Jimmy.
18. In about March, 1997, Jimmy brought a girlfriend named Brenda Morales and asked Dayawathie to let her live in the apartment. Dayawathie agreed. Jimmy previously had brought his girlfriends to the apartment and had had sexual intercourse with them in the boy's bedroom. Dayawathie does not seem to mind this. Jimmy picks up these girls at a disco on 116th Street on the West Side. He had met Brenda Morales in this disco.
19. After Brenda moved in, immediate conflicts developed between her and Jean, Julie and the other Brenda. There were often fights. As it turned out, Brenda Morales had just gotten out after serving a year in jail. She has six children, the first of which was born when she was just 13, but none of her six children live with her.
20. All this time, I could do nothing about this. I could do nothing to stop Dayawathie from hitting and abusing my kids, nor could I stop Jimmy, Jean, Julie and Brenda from hitting the kids, as they often did. The reason I could do nothing about this is because Sister Theresa Courtney, Sister Charlotte and a social worker named Kathleen, were constantly coming to the apartment trying to catch me there. They did not care that crack addicts and prostitutes, which Jean, Julie and Brenda are, were living the apartment. They did not care that Dayawathie plus Jimmy, Jean, Julie and Brenda were constantly hitting and beating the kids. Their only concern was to stop me, the father, from living with my own children. For this reason, I had to sneak into the apartment late at night and leave early in the morning. I did not dare say a word, because if I did I would be kicked out and Jimmy, Jean, Julie, Brenda and Brenda Morales would be allowed to stay there without my kids having any protection at all.
21. Finally, on April 19, 1997, I could bear it no longer. I went to sleep at 10:00 PM with only me, the four children and Dayawathie in the apartment. I woke up at about 5:00 AM with the TV playing at full blast, with Jean, Jean's daughter, Brenda Morales and Jimmy there. They had come at about 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM. There was great potential for violence because they often get in fights which each other. So, I called 911. I told 911 that there were crack addicts sleeping all over the house and they had to be gotten out.
22. The police responded to my 911 call and woke everybody up. However, Dayawathie told the police that I was the trouble maker and had the police take me out of the apartment. She also called Sister Charlotte and told her that I was there. The police took me out of the apartment. Jean, Jean's daughter, Brenda Morales and Jimmy just went back to sleep.
23. I am informed that later that day there was a fight in the apartment. Two men from the Middle-East came in response to a call from Dayawathie and found Jimmy sleeping there at about 2:00 PM. Dayawathie told Jimmy to leave. The children all told the two men that Jimmy had hit them. Jimmy said that he would leave, but when he felt like it, after taking a shower, etc. One of the men from the Middle East changed epithets with Jimmy and then hit Jimmy over the head with a cane and removed him from the apartment. Jimmy did not come back for a while.
24. A few days later, there was a fight between Julie and Brenda Morales. The boyfriend of Brenda Morales, whose name is Cholo, tried to hold Brenda to stop her from fighting, whereas Dayawathie tried to hold Julie. Julie and Jean are identical twin sisters who both weigh about 200 lbs. Julie knocked Dayawathie to the floor, causing her serious injury.
25. Meanwhile, on April 20, 1997, after my call to 911, Sister Charlotte contacted Dorchen Leidholdt, Director of Sanctuary for Families. According to Dayawathie, Dorchen Leidholdt called Judge Bruce M. Kaplan on Sunday night at his home and asked him to issue a temporary order of protection to keep me out of the apartment. Judge Kaplan said that he could no longer do that because he was now in Bronx Family Court but that he would call Judge Richard Ross and have him issue the order of protection. Judge Ross issued the order of protection the next day, April 21, 1997. I was never notified of this, even though Dorchen Leidholdt knew my telephone number at work and was under an ethical obligation to inform me of an ex-party court proceeding brought against me.
26. On April 22, I wrote a letter to Judge Ross with a copy to Sanctuary for Families complaining that prostitutes and crack cocaine addicts were living in the apartment with my children. The letter was received the next day and Dorchen Leidholdt, Sister Theresa and Sister Charlotte all went to the apartment on Wednesday, April 23. They arrived at a good time, because that was Dayawathie's welfare check day and Jean, Julie and Brenda Morales had all assembled there to divide up Dayawathie's welfare check as they customarily do. Dorchen Leidholdt, Sister Theresa and Sister Charlotte arrived just after Dayawathie had arrived with the money and before Jean and Julie could take it away from her. After some conversation, Jean told Dorchen Leidholdt, Sister Theresa Courtney and Sister Charlotte to take their conversation elsewhere, because she was going back to sleep. However, Dorchen Leidholdt, Sister Theresa and Sister Charlotte told Jean, Julie and Brenda Morales that they had to leave. They finally did leave, after Julie asked Dayawathie to give her some money. Dayawathie secretly told Brenda to come back later.
26. I was never served with the Order of Protection. However, on May 6, I went to the New York Family Court and had Judge Ross issue a summons issued asking for the custody of my children to be awarded to me. I demanded that Judge Ross schedule an immediate hearing so that could get custody of my three children. Judge Ross refused to schedule a hearing any sooner than June 23, the date he had originally set. I continued to live in the apartment with Dayawathie Rankoth and our four children. Brenda Morales was living there too. Jean and Julie were no longer there. Black Brenda, also known as "One-Legged Brenda", was either in jail or in the hospital, or both.
27. In May, Dayawathie asked Shanti Vithanage Onofre, also known as "Renuka", who is also from Sri Lanka, to come to New York from California and stay with her. Shanti came with our daughter, Jessica. Dayawathie asked me to pick them up at Kennedy Airport on May 23, which I did. Shanti did not know about Brenda Morales. When she arrived, she found a chain smoking Brenda. Shanti and her daughter, Jessica, live in a smoke free home in California and could not stand a house filled with smoke. After a few days, they told Dayawathie that they could not stay any longer in that house unless she got rid of Brenda. Dayawathie said that she would get rid of Brenda, but did nothing about it. Finally, Shanti and Jessica left, while Dayawathie sat on the couch, glassy-eyed like a drug addict, staring at the television set and did not even say good-bye as they left.
28. About a week later, Shanti told me that she was sending me $40. I had given Shanti $300 towards her airplane ticket from California and now she was giving me some of it back. Unfortunately, Shanti also told Dayawathie about this. When I went to Dayawathie's apartment on June 2, she started yelling and screaming that she wanted that $40. I gave her $10. The next night, June 3, I gave Dayawathie $30 and she gave me the new keys to the apartment and told me to make duplicates. Sanctuary for Families had had the locks changed again to keep me out.
29. The next evening, June 4, I came, and Dayawathie started screaming for money. She also told me to go to JFK Airport, because Shanti and Jessica were coming from California again. This time, I had only 25 cents in my pocket plus one token to get to the airport. Dayawathie started screaming at me that she wanted more money. However, I went to sleep.
30. While I was sleeping, Dayawathie came into the bedroom and asked if I had called the police. It turned out that Brenda Morales had called 911 without telling Dayawathie about it. Two police officers from the housing police came in, woke me up and escorted me from the apartment.
31. The next morning, I picked Shanti and Jessica up from JFK Airport and brought them to the apartment, arriving at 9:00 AM. We knocked on the door. There was no answer. I had the keys so I opened the door. Brenda Morales was inside. Dayawathie later told us that the Warrant Squad had been by to arrest Brenda Morales for shoplifting and failure appear at 7:00 AM that morning and that Brenda Morales had evaded arrest by hiding under the bed. Brenda Morales had been caught shoplifting at the America Supermarket on 185 East 115th Street. She had taken my children, George and Anusha, there and used them as decoys so that she could steal some food. I later went to the America Supermarket and they confirmed this. The manager said that Brenda had hidden 15 packages of meat under her blouse and had been arrested. They clearly recalled my two children being with Brenda at the time of her arrest. Apparently, Brenda was given a DAT and released by the police because she had my two children with her.
32. The reason I am reciting all of these events is that I have been complaining repeatedly about them. I have constantly been to the police, to the attorney general's office, to the Child Welfare Administration, to the New York Family Court and to other courts complaining about all of this. Yet, there has never been even an investigation into any of this. I have never had a hearing in any court. Meanwhile, I have now been arrested three times through the efforts of Dorchen Leidholdt, Sister Theresa Courtney and Sanctuary for Families, Inc.
33. On June 11, I received a message that my wife, Dayawathie Rankoth, had left a message with Syed Shah, a friend from Afghanistan who lives in Far Rockaway, for me to come to her apartment. I called back and Dayawathie asked me to come there, because, she said, she felt sorry for me for the bad treatment she had given me. I told her that I would be there at 9:30 PM, as it was a two hour trip from Far Rockaway.
34. I came there, arriving at 9:30, as I had said that I would. I knocked on the door. Dayawathie opened and let me in. She closed the door behind me. After I was inside, two police officers who had been hiding in the bedroom awaiting my arrival, came out and arrested me, charging me with violation an order of protection. The arresting officer was named Carmen Bonilla. The charges primarily stemmed from the June 5, 1996 incident where Brenda Morales had called 911 and the police had come and taken me out of the apartment, but had not arrested me.
35. I was hold in jail for six days. I was first taken to court on June 12. Hon. Eileen Koretz issued an order of protection dated June 12, 1997, although this was essentially duplicative of the Order of Protection issued by Judge Richard Ross of the New York Family Court on April 21. The ADA, Natalie Jacoby, told Judge Koretz a whole bunch of wild and completely untrue things about me, such as saying that I am wanted in 22 countries of the world. This is not true. I am not wanted anywhere in the world. I have never been charged with a crime in any other country of the world, even though I have been to 75 countries.
36. ADA Jacoby asked for bail in the amount of $50,000. The judge set bail in the amount of $25,000.
37. On June 17, 1997, I was brought to court again. This time ADA Elaine Chiu told the court that there was no Grand Jury action at this time. Judge Paul G. Feinman reduced my bail to one dollar. He ordered a new order of protection, as the order of protection issued by Judge Koretz had expired on June 16.
38. Although my bail was reduced to one dollar, I was still being held on a warrant issued by Judge Ross. On June 18, I was taken to New York Family Court. Judge Ross was not there. Judge Bednar set bail for $5,000 and set a hearing for Friday, June 20.
39. On Friday, June 20, I was brought to the court of Judge Ross. The opposing side, Dayawathie Rankoth and Dorchen Leidholdt, did not appear. I demanded to be released immediately, in view of the failure to appear by the opposing side plus the fact that I now had been held in jail for 9 days. However, Judge Ross refused and adjourned the matter until June 23.
40. On Monday, June 23, which was also the hearing date scheduled by Judge Ross back on April 21, I was brought from jail to the New York Family Courthouse. However, after waiting until late afternoon in the courthouse jail, my newly appointed council, Anthony Wilger, came down and told me that Sanctuary for Families had written a letter withdrawing their petition. Judge Ross had thereupon dismissed the petition and had gone for the day. I protested that I was also supposed to be having a hearing on my cross-petition for the custody of my three children. Anthony Wilger said that nothing could be done about that, because the judge had already left. I was released and walked out the jail door with Anthony Wilger. I was never brought to court and never saw the judge. Judge Ross obviously did not want to give me a chance to complain about being held in jail for 12 days for no reason.
41. By having me arrested, they had deprived me of my Pentium 90 computer which I need for my work, plus all of my clothing, my legal papers (including papers which pertain to this case), and various other personal items, all of which were in the apartment of Dayawathie Rankoth. I went to my legal aid lawyer, Kweku Vanderpuye, every day, and asked for his assistance in obtaining the recovery of these items. Finally, on July 3, he suggested that I go to the police precinct and ask to have two police officers escort me to the apartment of Dayawathie Rankoth and obtain recover of my property, especially my computer. I did so, arriving at the Housing Police precinct at about 3:00 PM. They assigned two police officers to accompany me. However, before we could leave, Officer Carmen Bonilla, the same police officer who had waited in the bedroom of my apartment and had arrested me the first time, arrived. She told me to wait outside, which I did for one hour. Then, she came out and arrested me again. This time, the allegation was that Dayawathie Rankoth had twice seen me through the peephole. Fortunately, I was able to get out the next day.
42. The current situation is that the Family Court proceedings have been dismissed. I am out on one dollar bail. The next hearing in Criminal Court is scheduled for August 21. It is obvious that the criminal case against me will have to be dismissed, because the letter from Sanctuary for Families Inc. says that there is no evidence to support the petition filed in the Family Court and the allegations in the criminal cases against me are identical to the allegations made in the Family Court. Copies of these pleadings plus the letter from Sanctuary for Families are annexed.
43. Nevertheless, I am being kept away from my children, who love me very much. If my children get sick, as they often do, I cannot take them to the hospital. I can do nothing to protect my children from being beaten and abused by their mother, as they often are, or from being hit by Jimmy, Jean, Julie and Brenda, not to mention the harm in their being exposed to the prostitutes, shoplifters, crack addicts and loan sharks who frequent that apartment.
44. The orders of protection should never have been issued without a hearing. No hearing has ever been held. It violates my constitutional rights and the rights of my children to allow this order of protection, which no legal basis, to stay in effect. Also, an order of protection of this sort should never be issued by the Criminal Court, but rather by the Family Court, because it keeps me away from my wife and three children.
45. No prior application has been made for the relief requested herein.
WHEREFORE, for all of the reasons set forth above, the order of protection dated June 17, 1997 should be vacated.
__________________
Ismail Sloan
24 Sixth Avenue
Brooklyn NY 11217
Sworn to before me this 17th
day of July, 1997
_______________________ NOTARY PUBLIC
SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK APPELLATE TERM: FIRST DEPARTMENT ____________________________________________ PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK AGAINST Docket No. 97N058104 ISMAEL SLOAN, DEFENDANT ____________________________________________ NOTICE OF MOTION _____________________________________________ PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that upon the annexed affidavit of Ismail Sloan, sworn to on July 17, 1997, the order of protection dated June 17, 1997, the notice of appeal dated June 16, 1997 and upon all of the papers and proceedings heretofore had herein: The undersigned will move this court on July 30, 1997 at 60 Center Street, New York, New York, Room 401 at 10:00 AM o'clock in the forenoon of that day, or as soon thereafter as counsel may be heard, for an order staying and vacating the temporary order of protection dated June 17, 1997 for such other and further relief as may be deemed just and proper. Yours, etc. __________________ Ismail Sloan 24 Sixth Avenue Brooklyn NY 11217 TO: Elaine Chiu Assistant District Attorney One Hogan Place New York NY 10013 DATED: July 22 , 1997 New York, New York
For the full text of the letter to the Judge Ross, see: Letter from Sanctuary for Families, Inc.
HELP is desperately needed for a lawsuit brought against me: New York Family Court Child Custody Proceeding and Temporary Order of Protection .
Here is the answer I filed: All about Sanctuary for Families and Sister Theresa Courtney . Here is my motion to vacate the ex-party temporary order of custody: Motion to Vacate the Ex-Party Temporary Order of Custody .