DALLAS — A Kentucky mother says a Texas psychologist falsely branded her as having a "below-average" I.Q. and non-existent mental illnesses which cost her custody of her kids. The woman graduated magna cum laude from college.
News 8 continues its investigation into the growing controversy of using court-appointed psychologists in child custody battles with the story of one mother who is fighting back.
It was Robin Duckworth's ex-husband who taught her the value of recording everything. "I mean, I would never have thought about taping if Ed hadn't taped me," said the divorced mom. "Melody East took the tape to the judge and they took my children away from me. I figured, 'boy, tapes are valuable.' I mean, look at what it did for Ed and his attorney."
Duckworth has collected dozens of audio tapes over the past two years in an effort to show what she considers serious irregularities in the way a judge and a court-appointed psychologist have handled her case.
She said they've gone a long way to proving that she's not crazy.
"A lot of people have helped me stay focused, and if I had not kept such good documentation of everything, there wouldn't be a hope that anyone would believe me if I had not... done all those things," Duckworth said. "It's a choice that I make, Valeri, and I learned that when all this started, I make the choice to stay sane. With all that's been done to me, I could go off the deep end and nobody would blame me."
There are couple of things you should know about Robin Duckworth before you read a key exerpt from the audio tapes which were secretly recorded by her ex-husband. Robin Duckworth is a practicing Christian, and she's upset that the judge had ordered her small children to be shuttled 1,200 miles between Texas and Kentucky every week.
In this excerpt, when her ex-husband Ed comes to pick them up, both children -- under the age of two -- are sick. ROBIN: "You're not going to get away with this, Ed. God is not going to let you. I pray God takes your life if you don't turn to Him and stop this nonsense. I'd better not find these children in the shape they were in last month. I'm tired of having to go to the emergency room, that is ridiculous."
At no time does Robin threaten any physical violence, but she does call Ed's parents "demons." Rockwall Judge Sue Pirtle refused to comment on camera, but she did tell us in chambers that the "demon" comment and Robin's statement that she "prayed" Ed would die caused her to issue a temporary restraining order restricting Robin's access to her kids.
After that, Robin's religious beliefs became a target for Ed Duckworth's attorney and others. Ed Duckworth's attorney, Charles Schurenberg, outlined what evidence leads to his conclusion that Robin Duckworth is unstable. "Her psychological interview with the psychologist. And her testing with the psychologist. And, she's got a thought disorder, she's delusional, she's got all kinds of problems that scared the psychologist to death," Schurenberg said.
Carla Herren was appointed by the court to provide a psychological evaluation of both Ed and Robin Duckworth in their custody fight.
Herren declined to talk with News 8, citing patient confidentiality, but Robin Duckworth said she focused the majority of the interview on radical questions about her religious beliefs. Robin Duckworth said she feels that Herren was trying to portray her as crazy. "Without a doubt. There is not a doubt in my mind," Duckworth said. "I know what we talked about. And her mental evaluation... the day I got it took my breath away. I said, 'she has gotten my results mixed up with someone else's. There is no way this is me.'"
News 8 contacted three American Psychology Association experts about the tests Dr. Herren gave Robin. All three stated that she had used an old version of one test that hadn't been updated since World War II. They also told us that Herren's use of a certain personality test could be easily misconstrued to portray a parent in a custody dispute as mentally unstable.
More disturbing is the discovery of changes made to Ed Duckworth's report.
Although Dr. Herren was the court appointed psychologist, a colleague in her office actually performed a lot of the evaluation. Herren admitted to News 8 that she misread his notes and included a serious error in the report. It was later retracted.
Charles Schurenberg, Ed Duckworth's attorney, denied there was a mistake made in Mrs. Duckworth's evaluation, but conceded, "there is a possibility that anybody could do anything in any report." Less than one year before Ed Duckworth filed for a divorce in Texas, he filed for divorce in Kentucky, where he volunteered to give up custody to the kids because -- as he told the court -- Robin was the "fit and proper parent."
Despite flaws pointed out in the psychological exams, Judge Pirtle told News 8 that she still believes Robin Duckworth is "sick," "manipulative" and "dangerous". Robin Duckworth just wants someone to look at the evidence she's collected. "I have two babies. God gave me those babies. I carried them. I gave birth to them. I love them. There is no way I would ever give up. I'm never going away.
"I know that Judge Pirtle would like for me to go away. I know that Ed would like for me to go away. I will not go away. I will never go away," Robin Duckworth said.
In our next report. News 8 Investigates looks at fees of court-appointed psychologists.