Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, July 15, 1993                   TAG: 9307150127
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

JUDGE ORDERS DIVORCE SECRECY

Circuit Judge Kenneth Trabue said Wednesday that he closed the file without a request from attorneys from either side because he was concerned about the younger boy's privacy.

Trabue said he feared that recent newspaper articles and television reports had violated the child's privacy by disclosing his parents' names.

"I just can't fathom for the life of me - for all the newspaper's proclamations about not wanting to release the name of juveniles in court cases - that you would put the [parents'] names in the paper," Trabue said.

Last month, the mother contacted the Roanoke Times & World-News and local TV stations to draw attention to the unusual custody battle.

Michael W. Scott seeks custody of his 11-year-old son on grounds that his estranged wife and her 17-year-old son from a previous marriage would create an "unwholesome" environment for the younger child.

Sandra O. Scott is fighting for joint custody, saying there is no reason why her two sons shouldn't live under the same roof.

The older boy, James "Jay" McCulley, revealed his homosexuality after his mother and stepfather separated earlier this year. Legal experts say the case is unusual because custody fights involving claims of homosexuality usually deal with the sexual orientation of a parent, not a sibling.

A custody hearing scheduled for Wednesday in Roanoke County Circuit will be closed to the media, Trabue said.