Zepeda v. Zepeda

632 N.W.2d 48 (2001)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

M and F were married November 27, 1987. They had a son. In November 1998, F accepted a position with Gateway Computer Company, and the couple moved to South Dakota. M stayed home and 'took care of the majority of attending to Jorgito, his feeding, cleaning, dressing, shopping for clothes for him, [and] buying food for him.' Things were not happy. M admitted that from late July 1999 until sometime in October of that year she engaged in 'highly erotic' discourse on Internet 'chatrooms' with two different adult men. M had sexual relations several times with another man in July 1999. F sued for divorce in September 1999. At trial the parties disputed everything. Before the interim hearing, the couple was evaluated by psychologist, Dr. Matt Stricherz. Stricherz opined that 'while not appropriate for the marriage,' M's Internet use was not an addiction. Stricherz also noted that 'neither [parent] has issues in their past that would indicate an inability to provide adequate care for the child. The father has his strengths. The mother has her strengths.' The court heard testimony from a licensed independent social worker, Judy Conner, who had visited with all three members of the family. She described Jorgito as a very active child who spoke very well even at age two. She observed that he 'appeared to be very attached to both of his parents.' Conner found Jorge and Renee 'to be very caring parents.' She saw nothing 'that raised a red flag... or any kind of alarm.' Dr. Stricherz's opinions coincided with Conner's. M was given primary physical custody and F appealed.