His Name Comes From the Bible

by Sam Drew/PNN

"I'm trying to get my son back!" was Sandra Thompson's response to my mundane question about her well-being. Sandra has suffered through a series of emotional setbacks that would have crushed a weaker person. But her dogged determinism for justice and strong belief in God have kept her thinking positive

I first met Sandra at POOR Magazine's monthly Community Newsroom meeting in downtown San Francisco. She riveted the audience with her story of being made a pariah for reporting her sexual abuse to the proper authorities and the removal of her beloved son by Child Protective Services(CPS) and the judicial system.

She was attending San Francisco City College working hard to acquire her AA in Criminal Justice. "I wanted to get a degree in Criminal Justice to inspire the youth. I worked myself from homelessness," she said proudly. "But I have a past, I came out of the Foster Care System and later got into juvenile hall, I then got involved with gangs. I spent 6 years at Chowchilla Prison for involuntary manslaughter. I did not do it but I was convinced to take a polygraph test. I was young and wasn't educated about my civil rights . But I've changed my life,"? she said seriously.

Sandra exhibited pride, as she told me she was on schedule to graduate in the Spring of 2008 with a high G.P.A. But her mood quickly changed as she began describing what happened with one of the instructors. While she was working on acquiring her GED, a math teacher offered to tutor Sandra because as she says she "was weak in Algebra and Geometry."?

"He said we would have to go back to his place to study. That is where he attempted to rape me,"? she said her eyes filled with rage and sadness. Sandra did what people are told to do after this type of assault "I reported the incident to Affirmative Action and then I went to the Chancellor."? Sandra spoke with someone at Affirmative Action and then with the Dean and the Chancellors office, but her charges were dismissed. "They sent me a letter that they hired an investigator but they couldn't substantiate my charges,"? she added.

But this denial of justice didn't stop Sandra from speaking out. "I was put on Disciplinary probation because of my disruption of complaining to the chancellors office." Then according to Sandra she was suspended indefinitely for speaking out at the meeting of Chancellors.

Sandra is not only speaking out on her behalf but also for other students,"A lot of other students on campus mention that instructors have done this to them too. But there is no support for students on campus,"? she said.

With all this drama swirling around Sandra her thoughts remain focused on her seven-year-old son Emmanuel. Sandra smiled warmly as she told me, "His name comes from the Bible."

But her smile quickly disappeared as she continued telling the story of her son. After learning that her husband was giving Emmanuel medication behind her back and that he had threatened him, she took her son to the police station and she was given an Emergency Protection Order. On September 7th, Sandra arrived in court under the impression that she was attending a restraining order hearing.

She sighed as she continued with the painful memory. "But when I arrived [they] told me it was not a restraining order hearing but that it was my custody hearing for a CPS report that said I convinced my son to make false accusations against his father," she said.

At court that day Sandra was shocked to hear that C.P.S. would be removing her son because she was "withholding his medication"? and she was told that this was "not an open case."

Today Sandra's husband has sole legal custody of her son and she has no parental rights, as she is struggling with two court cases. Her current attorney will remove himself in the beginning of December and as of now Sandra, like so many other parents struggling with C.P.S. has no legal support for her next hearing on December 21st.

Yet with all the hardships Sandra has encountered she remains upbeat as she defiantly says, "I'm a survivor of domestic abuse, nothing will stop me from achieving my goals, I want to work with women in prison; I want to make sure what happened to me doesn't happen to other single mothers. I will not be intimated...If you do not stand up and speak out for yourself, things will never change."

If you can assist Sandra Thomsen call (415) 351.9988 or visit the website www.freewebs.com/comelooksee