ANDERSON, Ind. — An Anderson father says that because he professed religious doubt in a custody hearing, a judge took his children from him.

Craig Scarberry, 29, this month was stripped of joint custody of his three children, Kaelyn, 7; William, 6, and Ayvah, 4, because he changed his religion from Christian to agnostic.

“It blew my mind away,” Scarberry said of an order written by Madison County  Superior Court 3 Commissioner George C. Pancol and affirmed by Judge Thomas Newman. The order that stripped Scarberry of joint custody listed evidence heard in the case upon which Pancol based his ruling.

Pancol’s order says Scarberry “did not participate in the same religious training that the (mother) exercised and that (Scarberry) was agnostic.” Scarberry has until Dec. 1 to appeal the ruling, which has reduced his custody to visitation with his children four hours per week and on alternating weekends.

“I’m a good, loving father, and this ruling has taken my children away,” Scarberry said. “I wasn’t interfering in their right to be brought up in a Christian environment,” he said, noting that the children still attend Christian school and church services as they have done in the four years that he has had joint custody.

Pancol, through a court staff member, said it would be unethical to comment about the case. The mother, Christine Porcaro, and her attorney, Andrew C. Lawrence, did not return telephone messages seeking comment for this article.

A Navy veteran and health-care worker, Scarberry has obtained a permit for a demonstration in support of fathers’ rights for Dec. 16 at the Madison County Courthouse. He said he believes his religious liberty has been violated.

“I thought I lived in America, where you have the right to practice what you want to practice without persecution,” he said. “I feel like I’ve suffered the highest persecution ... I had everything taken away from me.” Scarberry also was ordered to pay child support, which had not been stipulated when he and the children’s mother shared custody.

Pancol’s order included other evidence presented in court. It said there was evidence that Scarberry had used profanity in front of the children and at times “failed to control or manage his anger. ... In addition, (Scarberry) was sending a great number of text messages to (Porcaro).”

The order does not say that Scarberry was abusive or negligent toward the children.

Earlier, Percaro had obtained a protective order against Scarberry, which he objected to. She alleged that Scarberry “attempts to harrass and intimidate me at my place of employment with abusive language and profanity” and accused him of “randomly and unexpectedly stopping by my house at different hours of  the day and night.”

A protective order against Scarberry was issued in April, and Scarberry said evidence was presented later in court to refute the allegations. A month later, both parties renewed an agreement that extended joint custody.

Pancol’s order also included evidence that the mother “had left minor children at home alone, did not feed them breakfast and did not at time(s) buckle them in their car seats.”

The order severing joint custody was issued by Pancol on Nov. 1 and affirmed by Newman on Nov. 8. It said that when Scarberry had been a Christian, “the parties were able to communicate relatively effectively.”



Violent encounter

Less than a week after Newman affirmed the custody order, Scarberry was meeting Porcaro to transfer custody of the children to her when communication broke down violently, according to Anderson police.

Scarberry said he was saying goodbye to the children when Porcaro’s boyfriend, Brandon Galbraith, 23, told Scarberry that he didn’t need to get so close to their minivan. Scarberry said he told Galbraith that he was just saying goodbye. He said Galbraith got out of the vehicle and shoved him. Scarberry shoved back and a fight ensued.

A witness separated the men as they wrestled on the ground. Galbraith got in the minivan and left as Scarberry called Anderson police  shortly after 8 p.m. on Nov. 11. An APD case report says that as Scarberry talked to an officer, Porcaro sent a text message to Scarberry saying she and Galbraith were going to the police station to file a report against Scarberry.

The case report says Scarberry had cuts and scrapes on his elbow and he told police he had been punched in the back of the head, the right cheek, the left cheek and in the mouth. Scarberry said in an interview that was treated for a concussion as a result of the fight.

When the investigating officer returned to the police station, Galbraith was waiting, and the officer questioned him. The case report says Galbraith acknowledged shoving Scarberry first, and it names Galbraith the suspect and Scarberry the victim.

“I advised (Galbraith) that he was the aggressor and that he needed to let his fiance and (Scarberry) handle the child custody matter,” the officer’s case report says. “At this time I am only doing a case report to document what happened,” the APD report says.

As of Friday, no charges had been filed.

A day after the fight, Scarberry asked for and received a protective order against Galbraith in Madison County Superior Court 4. The Herald Bulletin requested a copy of that order on Friday, but court personnel said the case file could not be located.

Contact Dave Stafford: 648-4250, dave.stafford@heraldbulletin.com