BishopAccountability.org
	Teen, Former Educator Battle over Daughter's Custody The Associated Press, carried in The Dallas Morning News [Pasadena TX] June 7, 2006 http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8I3K6AG0.html A judge was expected to rule Wednesday in a custody battle between a former teacher's aide and the teenage student she had a child with three years ago. Lisa Zuniga Duran admitted having a sexual relationship with a then-13-year-old student of the Pasadena church school where she worked. At the time, Zuniga was 27. She gave birth to their daughter weeks after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual assault of a child. In April 2003, Zuniga was sentenced to 10 years probation and 30 days in jail. Zuniga has raised the child under supervision since the girl was born. Her conviction as a sex offender prohibits her from being around children without supervision. The teenager and his family were granted visitation rights. But the child's father, now 17, and his parents want custody of the girl. Zuniga broke down during a hearing Tuesday as she explained her fear of being separated from her daughter. She also testified about being worried her daughter would be exposed to physical and emotional abuse if she's sent to live with the father and his parents. "Lisa's been a great mother for the last three years. It's the only family that this child has ever known, and we're asking the court to find that it's in her best interest to continue living with this child," attorney Helen Simotas said. The teenager denied his parents have been abusive. During the same hearing, the teenager said he could give his daughter a better life than Duran. He wants to take the girl to Oklahoma, where he lives with his parents and is expecting another child with his girlfriend. The teenager graduated from high school recently and said he plans on supporting his children with a night job while attending college. "He has the support of his family. He didn't choose this. She chose to make him the father. He has those rights. That's his child," attorney Butch Bradt said. The teenager and his mother have done several television interviews, including one with the Montel Williams show. Zuniga, who has since married and had another child, appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.