have a brother who has two
children.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Your brother is
in prison, according to your
complaint, and you have
guardianship of the two
children.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Since when?
>> Since October 30 of 2017.
>> Judge Judy: Where is their
mother?
>> Their mother was in rehab at
the time.
She got out of rehab in
December, on December 11,
and she's currently in Oregon
with her family.
>> Judge Judy: Do you have any
other children?
>> Yes, I have two of my own.
>> Judge Judy: How old are these
children?
They're little ones.
>> They are 4, and the other one
turned 7 yesterday.
>> Judge Judy: The defendant was
a preschool teacher of your
niece.
>> For three years, yes.
>> Judge Judy: And you made some
sort of an arrangement with her
to take the two children to
visit with their father in
prison.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: How often?
>> Well, at the time, my brother
and his wife were getting a
divorce, and she was not going
to take the children up anymore
to see their father.
>> Judge Judy: What kind of
term is he serving?
>> He has 12 more years left.
>> Judge Judy: What was his
sentence?
>> His original sentence was for
41 years.
>> Judge Judy: For what?
>> Murder.
>> Judge Judy: Who?
>> The victim was a 16-year-old
girl, and he was 19.
>> Judge Judy: So he has another
12 years to go on a minimum
sentence.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: He may or may not
be released at that point.
>> He could be released sooner.
The sentencing laws have
changed, and he was sentenced to
an exceptional sentence, which
is no longer legal.
It just hasn't been made
retroactive.
And also, because he was a
juvenile, those sentencing laws
have changed as well.
>> Judge Judy: Do the children
enjoy the visits with their
father?
>> Absolutely.
They love their father.
They have a really good time
with him.
They're very close.
They talk every day.
>> Judge Judy: Is that correct?
>> Yes and no.
There were good visits, and
there were bad visits, depending
on extenuating circumstances.
Her brother --
>> Judge Judy: I ask you that
question because the defendant's
job, according to your
complaint, for which you paid
her was to take the children for
the visits, so...
How often did you take the
children?
>> It would depend on whatever
the schedule is with other
people, so I would try to take
them at least probably once a
month, and at the time, he had
overnight visits.
So, I would take them on the
overnight visits, which were...
It's about 26 hours.
>> Judge Judy: What do you mean?
How do you have an overnight
visit?
>> The state of Washington, they
have something called EFVs,
which are extended family
visitation.
And if the inmate has, I guess,
participated in the program and
has an exemplary record, he's
eligible for those, so I've done
those for about 20 years.
>> Judge Judy: How do you
effectuate an overnight visit
with two small children?
They stay in the prison, or they
go out of the prison?
>> You're inside the prison, but
it's inside a single wide
trailer that's locked up.
So you have a fence around your
trailer.
There's five trailers there.
>> Judge Judy: And you've done
that with the children?
>> Yes, I've done that with my
parents.
I visited my brother overnight
I think for about 20 years, and
when the kids were eligible,
they had to go through the
approval process as well.
Then I took first the little
girl and then the little boy as
well.
>> Judge Judy: Were these
children conceived while he was
in prison?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: During one of
these visits?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Not very good
judgment.
How old is your brother now?
>> He is 44.
>> Judge Judy: Okay, this is
what the case is about,
with that little bit of
background.
According to your complaint, you
gave Ms. Dougherty $5,000
up front in order to do visits.
How many visits?
>> We made the arrangements in
June of 2016 for her to do six
visits a month, which was the
parenting plan that was agreed
upon at the time by the two
parents.
And that was to start in
September of 2016.
>> Judge Judy: For how long?
>> For 10 months, so basically
the school year, so September
through June.
>> Judge Judy: Is that your
arrangement?
>> No.
>> Judge Judy: What was your
arrangement?
>> The first time that I had
contact with her brother was on
July 25, which was the very
first visit that I took his kids
to.
>> Judge Judy: Well, how did you
get to take them?
>> So, the older child was
enrolled in my preschool, and
the mom, when divorce was
becoming imminent, had asked me
to get on the visitation list
because she knew that I'd be a
safe person to take the
children.
That was in March of that year.
However, I never did --
>> Judge Judy: March of what
year?
>> March of 2016.
>> Judge Judy: '16.
>> Correct, but I did not do any
visitations at that time, so I
was already on his approved list
when July came around.
So my agreement with Matthew was
made during that first visit on
July 25 based on the information
that had been provided to me
from his wife.
And it was $100 per visit, and
since that was a $5,000 payment,
that would be 50 visits.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.