Unlawful Deprivation of Family Rights

The Robinson–Lopez Case

This is not a family dispute. It is an unlawful deprivation of family rights through inhumane and degrading treatment of a mother, her children, and their paternal family.

I am an RFA-approved paternal grandfather who has invested over $40,000 in support, care, and stability for my two granddaughters. Yet I have been cut off from them completely — with no crime committed, no abuse alleged, and no finding of unfitness.

The Violations

Inhumane & Degrading Treatment: Visits are conducted under surveillance, with toddlers followed into bathrooms for diaper and potty time, and social workers peeking through cracks while typing notes. This is not child protection — it is humiliation and psychological abuse.

Retaliation

After we spoke out publicly, the system retaliated: visitation was slashed, false allegations were manufactured, and a bogus §388 petition was filed to push for termination of parental rights. The mother was even threatened with contempt and jail if anything from the reports surfaced — even if the information concerned another party entirely. That kind of gag order is not child protection, it is a direct violation of the 14th Amendment and the family’s constitutional right to defend themselves against false accusations.

Exclusion of Kin: Despite federal law prioritizing kinship care, I — an approved caregiver — have been denied placement, punished instead of supported.

False Reporting & Case-Fixing: Absurd claims, such as threats to run off to Florida, have been written into official reports to smear me and prolong state control of the children.

The Law

The 14th Amendment guarantees family integrity and due process. Federal child welfare statutes — Title IV-E and Title IV-B — mandate kinship placement and prohibit exactly this kind of retaliation. The conditions imposed on us violate not only constitutional rights but also basic human dignity, rising to the level of cruel, degrading, and inhumane treatment condemned by human rights law.

The Human Cost

Two little girls cry to come home, subjected to daily daycare confinement and surveillance during visits instead of love and normal family life.

Their mother, who completed her service plan and shows up faithfully, is treated as if her progress does not matter, punished for speaking publicly.

Their 88-year-old great-grandmother, suffering dementia, has been deprived of the joy her great-granddaughters bring — her health declining as she yells in distress.

I myself, their grandfather, am defamed, restrained, and deprived of my role — punished for nothing but speech and advocacy.

The Demand

This case is not about neglect or crime. It is about a system that retaliates, lies, and degrades human dignity. Until accountability is enforced, these children remain hostages of inhumane treatment at the hands of San Diego County.

We demand:

Immediate return of the children to family placement.

An end to retaliatory isolation and degrading practices.

Federal and independent investigation into San Diego’s dependency system.

No child and no family should ever be treated this way.