ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 28, 1996 TAG: 9602280091
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
A judge rejected a lesbian mother's request Tuesday for custody of her 4-year-old son and chastised the woman for plans to make a television movie about her ordeal.
Sharon Bottoms had argued that her son, Tyler Doustou, was developing poorly under the custody of her mother, Kay Bottoms, and that she could give the boy as secure and loving a home as his grandmother.
Henrico County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge William G. Boice rejected her argument, however, along with the recommendation of the boy's court-appointed guardian to restore custody of the boy to his mother.
Boice reaffirmed his 1993 decision, in which he ruled that Sharon Bottoms' lesbian lifestyle made her an unfit mother and put the boy in Kay Bottoms' custody. The Virginia Supreme Court upheld the ruling last year.
Sharon Bottoms and her partner, April Wade, fled the courthouse in tears without speaking to reporters.
``That was a kick in the gut. I don't think anyone wins in this case,'' said Donald K. Butler, one of Sharon Bottoms' attorneys.
American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Steven Pershing, who represents Sharon Bottoms, said his client was disappointed, but added, ``I'm very disappointed but not surprised, I'm afraid.''
Bottoms plans to appeal, Pershing said.
Boice criticized the involvement of Sharon Bottoms and Wade in a planned ABC television movie, ``For the Love of Tyler.''
``Does the mother bear responsibility for the media circus?'' Boice asked, referring to intense news coverage and the movie deal.
``Tyler was made the poster boy for a cause he could not and did not enlist,'' he said. ``I'm appalled at the movie contract.''
Pershing said after the ruling that his client cooperated with the movie producers because they were told the film would be made with or without their help.
Valerie Bertinelli will portray Sharon Bottoms and Vanessa Redgrave is to portray Kay Bottoms in the film. No broadcast date has been announced.
Boice also disregarded the recommendation of Torrence Harman, a lawyer appointed to monitor the child's well-being. She said the child showed poor emotional and educational development and should be returned to his mother.
``This child is not doing well,'' Harman said after closing arguments. ``Unless there is some radical change, my gut says the child is going to be an abusive young boy.''
Harman said that Tyler seeks to dominate people and is disrespectful to adults. On one occasion, he beat a playmate with a rubber snake and Kay Bottoms did not reprimand him, Harman said. In addition, the boy does not know the alphabet and cannot identify colors, Harman said.
``Something has not occurred in this child's life. People are just not taking the time to work with the child ... and redirect his energies,'' Harman said.
Butler said that University of Virginia psychologist Charlotte Patterson testified there is no link between a mother's sexual orientation and her child's development. Until final arguments, reporters were barred from the two-day hearing.
``There's no discernible difference between children growing up in lesbian or heterosexual families,'' Butler told reporters.
But Kay Bottoms' attorney, Richard Ryder, discounted Patterson's research because, he said, the professor is a lesbian.
LENGTH: Medium: 68 linesby CNB