Case Summary: A.T., born in 1988, allegedly had sexual relations with his stepsister and is charged with sexual abuse. He states that he did attempt to have sex with her but that he did not complete the act. The Hearing Officer looked to the definition of abuse. Abuse is any physical injury to a child by those responsible for the care, custody, and control. This includes but is not limited to other members of the child's household. The Officer found that A.T. did not fall into the category of "those responsible for care, custody and control". Also the Officer found that "abuser" has been defined as "parents" guardians" and "adults with responsibility". Since A.T. was a stepbrother, was not temporarily looking after the other child (such as in a babysitting context), and there were other adults present in the home, he was not responsible for care, custody and control of his stepsister. Separate from that interpretation, the Hearing Officer went on to find that DFS failed to meet its burden of proving abuse by a preponderance of the evidence.

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