A Florida mom of three struggles for the custody of her children while fearing the termination of her parental rights by a family court, nearly a year after her kids were taken away by the authorities.
40-year-old Cindy Lee Skon of Tampa, FL, and her husband, Peter Allen Skon, 42, came face to face with trauma on July 18, 2015, when her kids were seized by the authorities – the Hillsborough County Sherriff’s Office (HCSO) and the Department of Child and Families (DCF) – on accusations of being abusive parents. According to Cindy, the only reason provided to them for taking away the children – Brendon (17), Alex (14), and Abby (7) – was because the house didn’t have electricity at the time.
Cindy tells that although they fixed the electricity problem, things got worse for the family when the HCSO deputies came to arrest them following a public protest by her and her husband. This is also recorded in an e-correspondence of Peter Skon to the U.S. Department of Justice. Both Peter and Cindy say they have been threatened by HCSO deputies to keep quiet and stop protesting or else they would never see their children again.
Cindy’s says her worst fear is the safety of her daughter Abby, who is in foster care, because the last time she saw Abby, which was at the Criminal Justice Center, on October 9, 2015, the child told her she was inappropriately touched at the foster home. Cindy says she immediately called 911 but cops came in, grabbed and choked her, and also harassed Brendon. Cindy’s arrest record verifies that she was arrested on the same date. The two charges against her are listed as: Interference With Custody and Resisting Officer Without Violence, both as “probable cause.”
While Brendon turns 18 this month and will legally get the right to return home, his parents fear the upcoming court hearing has been scheduled on July 5th on design to stop them from reuniting with their children and adopting Abby out to some rich family.
Cindy says that both the FBI and mainstream media channels, including Fox and ABC News, have ignored their requests for help getting intervention.
DCF Tampa was called multiple times by this reporter for a statement on this case but the calls weren’t returned. A copy of the case file – no. 16132237 – was also requested of the HCSO via email, and to date, the request has not been fulfilled.
