Ten days after state child protection agencies said they would drop their attempts to force a Sandy boy into chemotherapy treatments, a juvenile court judge has ordered his parents to stand trial on charges of medical neglect.
Judge Robert Yeates ordered the Nov. 17 trial after a two-hour hearing Wednesday in which Daren and Barbara Jensen continued to resist placing their son Parker, 12, into chemotherapy treatments. Multiple physicians — including Dr. Martin Johnston, Boise, who examined Parker last month — have diagnosed Parker with Ewing's sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer for which chemotherapy is the recommended treatment.
The Jensens said in an Sept. 5 agreement with the state that they would comply with Johnston's recommendations. Johnston testified before the court by phone Wednesday.
Yeates had ordered that treatment begin in August and placed Parker in state custody. His parents ignored both orders, which triggered criminal kidnapping charges and set off a series of negotiations between the family, the governor's office, the Division of Child and Family Services, the Utah Attorney General's Office and the Guardian Ad Litem.
Juvenile court trials are civil proceedings, so the Jensens would not face jail time if Yeates finds them guilty of medical neglect. He could, however, order Parker back into state custody and demand that his existing order for chemotherapy be enforced, guardian ad litem Mollie McDonald explained.
Last week, DCFS and the Attorney General's Office, which serves the attorney for DCFS, said they would not force chemotherapy treatments because they believe Parker's mental disposition would make the situation unworkable.
A trial could still be avoided if the Jensens and the state can reach a compromise by Oct. 24, when a pretrial conference is scheduled.
A new deal drafted by the Attorney General's Office was presented to all the parties Tuesday, said Mark May, chief of the office's child protection division. May declined to comment on the specifics.
DCFS director Richard Anderson said the agency is open to any agreement that ensures Parker is getting treatment.
That could include treatment other than chemotherapy, but as yet, the Jensens have not detailed what those treatments might be, Anderson said.
Anderson said state law compels his agency to continue to work toward an agreement. To dismiss the case and walk away would be "neglectful," he said.
McDonald said the proposal calls for the Jensens to essentially plead no contest to medical neglect. In return the state would ask Yeates to terminate its jurisdiction over Parker.
In the meantime, Parker is slated to meet with Yeates in the judge's chambers Oct. 17. Attorneys from both sides will be present, but Parker's parents will not. Parker has never appeared in court.
The meeting is important because it will allow the judge to determine for himself the breadth of Parker's understanding of his diagnosis and its associated risks, McDonald said. It will also allow Yeates to assess Parker's maturity level and give Parker a chance to speak on his own behalf.
Daren Jensen said Wednesday that the continued meddling by state agencies shows they do not have Parker's best interests at heart. Parker is getting preventative care treatment, a combination of holistic and traditional medicines that is working well, he said. No new cancer cells have been found in the boy's body. The Jensens declined to say where or by whom that care is being administered.
When diagnosed last May, doctors said Parker's cancer would metastasize quickly and that he would likely die without chemotherapy. They said the Jensens' refusal of treatment placed Parker in "imminent danger."
"It's been six months," Daren Jensen said. "Where is the imminent danger now?"
Parker, he adds, "beats their statistics and they are not sure what to do with that."
The Jensens first appeared in court last June, after refusing treatment recommended by doctors at Primary Children's Medical Center. The family wrangled with the state through the summer until August, when they left Utah and failed to return even after felony criminal kidnapping charges were filed by Salt Lake County prosecutors. Barbara Jensen and Parker spent most of August in hiding.
Daren and Barbara Jensen have since pleaded guilty to misdemeanor custodial interference and were given a one-year suspended sentence. The plea agreement also includes a "plea in abeyance" provision, which means that the charge will be dismissed if the Jensens comply with the court-ordered conditions.
The Jensens are now living in Pocatello with Barbara Jensen's parents. Their Sandy house is for sale. Daren Jensen said the past six months have cost him about $300,000 in lost wages and legal expenses.
E-mail: jdobner@desnews.com