My name is Keri Gielow and I live in Indian River County Florida.
I was born and raised in my hometown of Vero Beach...I went to college in Jacksonville and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education.
I returned to Indian River County and began teaching, met Tracey Scarborough, a Vero Beach local himself, and a successful Landscape Company owner.
We were together for over 7 years before we found out I was pregnant and later that next school year (on October 15th, 2010) Leon Mason Scarborough was born.
We decided that I would resign from teaching so that I could stay at home with our son.
Leon had a great childhood and was a very happy kid.
Tracey and I separated when Leon was 5.
We began a very lengthy and extremely brutal custody battle.
DCF entered our lives on Dec.
16th, 2021.
They removed Leon due to "suspicion of child abuse" on my end and gave Leon to his father- since he was the "non-offending parent".
Upon the advise of my attorney, I began working the "Case Plan" that they gave me (without their knowledge).
By the time I signed the papers in February of 2022, I had already completed the case plan.
Leon was returned to me in May of 2022; Tracey and I started the summer with 50/50 custody.
In October of 2022, Judge Meadows terminated DCF, Gaudian Ad Litem, and the Court's Jurisdiction over us.
Tracey and I continued 50/50 custody until the beginning of November when Tracey and I agreed that I would take Leon for a time.
On December 6th, 2022 Craig DeLucca, an "investigator" with DCF called me at my work accusing me of drinking and not taking my son to school that day.
I immediately left work, picked Leon up from school, and went back to my house.
Craig DeLucca showed up with a Sheriff officer demanding that I give him Leon, because Tracey and I did not go back to Family Court and "finalize" our custody agreement.
The next day Craig had an "emergency hearing" and fabricated everything in his little report.
No one fact checked a thing and Leon was removed again and sent to live with Tracey's mother.
I began to work the case plan for a second time and they still refused to give Leon back to me or his father.
Tracey was never accused of any wrong doing, in fact just the opposite...and yet DCF then decided to include Tracey in the second "case plan".
Tracey never signed anything.
Flash forward to the end of June 2023...I received a phone call from the new Case Manager Alisha Beam informing me that my Ex-mother in law intended to fly to Washington the State with our son.
Tracey and I both vehemently vetoed this and on July 6th, 2023 I had a "supervised visit" with Leon.
After fishing on our dock, Leon went to the bathroom in our clubhouse, and called Tawyna House (Tracey's longtime girlfriend).
I later found out that Leon told his father that he would "run away" before he would get on a plane to Washington with his grandmother.
Tracey went to his mother's house that night and Leon (willingly) got into the car with him.
The next day (once I found out that Tracey DID in fact get Leon from his mother's) I was asked by the St.
Lucie County Sheriff Department if Tracey would harm Leon... to which I said "absolutely NOT, he would NEVER harm a hair on Leon's head"; they also asked if I thought Tracey had any weapons, to which I replied "NO".
Even though Tracey's mother and I both were adamant that Leon was with Tracey (they were the only 2 people missing from our family/friends head count) the St.
Lucie County Sheriff Department still issued a very unnecessary AND un requested Amber Alert.
After being found (unharmed) by his father, DCF emotionally harmed our child by placing him at Jensen Beach Hibiscus House Group Home (basically an orphanage) (3 towns south of us and 2 counties away) for 3 days, before moving him yet again to another orphanage in Palm Beach County (A Place Of Hope)...this time it's over an hour south of us, 5 towns away, 3 counties away, and in another Court District.
We have court on the 14th of this month and again on the 22nd.
We, as parents, must stand up to this abuse of power, misappropriation of state funds, and mental/emotional abuse of our children.
Tracey and I are not alone and unfortunately have joined a large and growing number of people in a club none of us EVER would wish on our worst enemies.
This is going to continue to happen to people if we don't speak out about what we're going through.
DCF has counted on us cowering in fear and being too embarrassed to come forward.
~Keri Gielow