Psychological Report

THE SPURWINK CHILD ABUSE PROGRAM

17 BISHOP STREET

PORTLAND, MAINE 04103

Phone: 207-879-6160 or 800-260-6160

Fax: 207-871-5668

Psychological Report

Name: Joey Esmond

Date of Birth: January 15, 1973

Record No: 0123456

Evaluation Dates: February 04, 2008; March 11, 2008

Report Date: May 12, 2008

Evaluation Methods: Wide Range Achievement Test, third edition, reading subtest (WRAT3);

Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, second edition (K-BIT2); Minnesota Multiphasic Personality

Inventory (MMPI-2); Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III); Substance Abuse Subtle

Screening Inventory (SASSI-3); Child Abuse Potential Inventory (CAP-I); Parenting Stress

Index (PSI); client interview; Parenting Sentence Completion Series; record review; parent/child

interaction observation session

Examiner: William M. Barter, Ph.D., Program Psychologist

Background: Mr. Esmond was referred to Spurwink for an evaluation of his parenting relative

to the placement of his infant son, Garvey; his stepson, Matty; and his three older boys, Caleb,

Danny, and Kris. At the time of referral from DHHS, a DVD was provided by the Department

showing Mr. Esmond being physically, verbally, and emotionally abusive to his wife’s son,

Matty Mondor. There have been ongoing concerns about Mr. Esmond’s inappropriate and

antisocial behavior and his overall ability to be a safe parent.

Asked for his view of the referral, Mr. Esmond stated that he was being referred for an

evaluation because he and his wife did not understand how to deal with his stepson, Matty. He

stated that he wants to find out what his parenting skills are because the State of Maine disagrees

with him about parenting. He then stated that everybody learns in life. He said that since foster

placement Matty has been 100% more well-behaved, articulate, and has few fits of yelling. He

said that maltreatment concerns were based on how he and his wife were dealing with Matty’s

behaviors and the way he was acting. He then stated that Matty has been diagnosed with

Asperger’s Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. He stated that it was

hard to know how to discipline him. He stated that he is currently living with his wife in an

apartment in Sanford where no children are currently living. He stated that Matty is in a foster

home, as is his infant son. He stated that they have supervised visits and he reiterated that

Matty’s behaviors have changed a great deal.

Evaluation Objectives: The current evaluation is intended a) to assess Mr. Esmond in terms of

his current psychological and emotional functioning, b) to assess his relative strengths and

weaknesses functioning as a parent, c) to assess for the presence of parental psychological,

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social, emotional or behavioral factors that might place children at risk of maltreatment or

neglect while in his care, and d) to assess his capacity to function as a predictable, empathic,

emotionally available attachment figure to his children.

Informed Consent: Informed consent for services at Spurwink was obtained from Mr. Esmond

to proceed with the evaluation. He affirmed understanding that the purpose of the evaluation

was to assess current psychological and emotional functioning as well as current parenting

competencies and risk factors for child abuse. He affirmed that he understood the non-

confidential nature of the evaluation and the fact that a copy of the final report will be forwarded

to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services. He further affirmed understanding that

the program staff might be called upon to testify on the content of the evaluation in court. He

affirmed understanding the risks and benefits of undergoing such an evaluation. Mr. Esmond was

afforded the opportunity to ask questions about the evaluation process at any step along the way.

Record Review: As part of the evaluation, records were provided by DHHS. Among the

records were police logs noting a couple of instances in which Mr. Esmond was involved in

altercations, including an assault on his wife and an assault on her child, Matty. The records

indicate Mr. Esmond’ inappropriate behavior in dealing with police officers and with family

issues.

In the DVD, Mr. Esmond is witnessed entering his stepson’s bedroom and threatening him with

hot sauce, later on bringing hot sauce into the room and threatening him with it. He is also

witnessed grabbing Matty by the sides of the face, slapping him, and speaking to him in a

threatening and sadistic voice. He was also witnessed using foul and abusive language toward

the child. At one point on the DVD he asks Matty if he remembers the hot sauce and how it

burned his mouth, and this is suggestive of the past use of hot sauce as a method of punishment.

The behavior witnessed on the DVD would be considered abusive and traumatizing by even the

most conservative standards.

Personal History: Mr. Esmond stated that he was born in Buffalo, New York and that he is the

son of Kevin Esmond and Ann (Hawks) Esmond. He said that his parents were married and then

divorced and subsequently reconciled. According to him, he has three siblings and one

stepsibling and he is the second oldest. Regarding socioeconomic status, Mr. Esmond stated that

the family went from poor to middle class to poor. He recalled that his father was an appliance

technician and that his mother worked in fast food restaurants. He stated that his mother

currently works in quality control. He described his family as dysfunctional and said that he

fought with his older brother. He also stated that he has problems with his younger brother and

sister. He said that, while living in New York state, he was brought up Roman Catholic. He said

that he belonged to a Boy Scout troop when he was a child. He then said that, at the end of

second or third grade, the family moved to New Hampshire. According to him, between the ages

of 10 and 11, he began having problems that included setting fires, fighting, and being kicked out

of school. He also stated that things were worse for him in New Hampshire because he was

picked on.

Asked about child abuse, Mr. Esmond stated that he was physically abused, emotionally abused,

and verbally abused. He stated that he was spanked and that his parents used hot sauce to punish

him, as well as making him sit in the corner. He said that as a younger child he was hit with a

belt. He also stated that throughout his life he has had fistfights with his father. He described

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himself as a problem child who caught the brunt of discipline in the family. He stated that it only

made him stronger. He stated that the physical abuse mainly came from his father and that his

mother would generally ground him. Regarding domestic violence, he stated that throughout the

years he witnessed domestic violence and he once saw his mother get her head “busted open”.

He also recalled that at one time his mother put sleeping pills in his father’s food to knock him

out.

Asked about his significant relationships, Mr. Esmond stated that his first relationship was with a

girl named Mindy whom he dated for six months in high school. He also stated that subsequently

he dated a girl named Deanna and they went out for one year in high school before he was placed

in a group home for 11 months for stealing a car. He said that there were a variety of flings until

he met Bethany Wahler at the age of 21. He stated that they were never married and that their

relationship was off and on for five years. According to him, he did everything to make Bethany

happy and had two boys with her. He said, at the time of this evaluation, that the boys were in his

parent’s custody because Bethany filed to give them custody. He stated that they broke up

because she was very abusive, mistreated the children, laid on the couch all day long, and was

constantly “on his case” and abusive. He recalled a time when she threw a six-month-old child

on the bed and yelled at him (Mr. Esmond) in front of the child.

Mr. Esmond stated that his next relationship was with Suzanne, the mother of his four-year-old.

He stated that that child is with his mother and there are no visitation rights currently because of

the allegations being made by his parents. He stated that it was a two-year relationship and they

moved into his parent’s home because they could not afford an apartment. He stated that there

was a lot of stress from his parents and his parents were abusive to Suzanne. He stated that he

then was with a woman named Lela for one year, but they had personal differences and she was

promiscuous.

He stated that his current wife, Mariah, used to talk with him on the computer and they went out

for eight days before they were married. He stated that they were married in August 2006.

According to him, the marriage was good at the beginning and then became rocky and they split

up for two to three months, but are back together. He stated that she has had a restraining order

on him twice and dropped it twice. He said that the allegation was felony assault against Matty.

According to Mr. Esmond, he gave Matty a “light tap” to his mouth, but Mariah said that he

slapped him. He stated that the police said he “assaulted the kid”, but he “left no marks” so it

could not have been an assault. He stated that he got a letter stating that they were not going to

charge him in December 2007.

Asked about domestic violence in his relationships, Mr. Esmond stated that Bethany filed an

allegation of alcohol abuse and domestic violence. He stated that Suzanne used Bethany’s

allegations to accuse him, but the Guardian ad Litem sided with him. He stated that the same

allegations are coming from his parents now, but a DHHS worker in New Hampshire is looking

for records to show that he did not do it. He stated that the allegations of violence are a “he said,

she said” situation and that he is being seen as guilty until proven innocent. He stated that, until

recently, he still had his children, so he could not have been doing anything totally wrong.

Asked about his educational history, Mr. Esmond stated that he was in a group home in

Massachusetts and went through the eleventh grade. He stated that he should have had enough

credits to graduate, but did not. He stated that night school did not work out for him. He stated

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that it was not his forte to sit in a classroom for three hours. He said that he might get his GED,

but he does not need it for his work. According to him, his grades “sucked” through life and that

he had attention deficit problems that were never diagnosed.

Asked about his work history, Mr. Esmond stated that he has worked in construction since the

age of 18. He stated that he is a subcontractor for one company and that he builds houses from

start to finish. He stated that he is a good worker with good references, and he has never been

fired from a job. He stated that he has always quit when he has wanted to move on to better jobs.

Mr. Esmond stated that he has never served in the military. According to him, his financial

support currently comes from his self-employment and he has no health insurance, no

entitlements, and a rented home. Asked to describe his hobbies, Mr. Esmond stated that he plays

on the computer, listens to music, and plays cards.

Asked about his medical history, Mr. Esmond stated that he had slight scoliosis at birth, as well

as attention deficit. He stated that he has chronic back pain. Asked to list his medications, he

stated that he takes no more medications. He then added that he is not a “happy camper” because

he deals with a lot of pain.

Mr. Esmond denied any history of psychiatric hospitalization. He stated that he was diagnosed

with Depression at Counseling Services, Inc., but no suicidality has been documented. Asked

about self-harm, he stated that he has a high pain tolerance and so he used to hit street signs

when he was frustrated. Asked about family psychiatric history, he stated that his father and his

younger brother have taken Lexapro.

Asked about outpatient treatment, Mr. Esmond stated that, when he was 15 or 16 years old, he

had counseling for Attention Deficit Disorder. He stated that he has recently had an intake at

Counseling Services, Inc. and that he is going back to see about a diagnosis