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Judge finds mother in contempt twice, tightens pickup rules in Dixon County custody dispute
Summary
A chancery judge found Amy Hewitt in willful contempt on two counts for failing to return her son as ordered, suspended two 10-day jail terms, and changed pickup-and-drop-off rules to reduce future exchanges disputes between the parents.
Dixon County Chancery Judge David D. Wolfe on Tuesday found the mother, Amy Hewitt, guilty of willful contempt on two counts for failing to return her son to the temporary primary residential parent as required by court order, suspended two consecutive 10-day jail terms, and revised the exchange schedule to reduce repeated transportation conflicts.
The court's order follows a hearing on competing motions: the father, Matthew Christopher Fenton, filed criminal contempt motions and asked the court to restore or protect his visitation after a January custody change that named him temporary primary residential parent. Hewitt had disputed notice of the January hearing and pressed that transportation and medical concerns complicated exchanges.
Why it matters: The ruling modifies how exchanges are handled between parents two-and-a-half hours apart and imposes clearer consequences for missed or late pickups, a practical change likely to affect weekend parenting time going forward.
Key rulings and changes - The judge found Hewitt guilty of two counts of willful contempt relating to failures to return the child on specified weekends. He imposed two 10-day jail sentences but suspended them; the judge warned he would lift the suspension and require consecutive jail service if future orders were deliberately violated. - The court altered exchange logistics: Hewitt will pick the child up at 4 p.m. on Fridays; Fenton will pick the child up in Dixon at 4 p.m. on Sundays. The judge explained the earlier 4 p.m. pickup window accounts for the parents' long drive so the child returns before school the next day. - If Hewitt is not present within 15 minutes of the scheduled pickup window, she will be deemed to have waived visitation for that weekend, the court said. - The court denied Hewitt's motion to reconsider the January custody order, finding sufficient notice and a factual basis for the prior change in temporary custody.
What the court saw: The record included text-message exchanges showing Hewitt notifying Fenton of missed returns and arguing about child-support matters. Fenton testified by phone and with exhibits that on several weekends he arrived for visits and was unable to complete the full allotted time because Hewitt said she had other plans or lacked transportation. Hewitt said she repeatedly tried to arrange alternate drivers (her stepmother Connie and her father were named) and cited a suspended driver's license and vehicle reliability problems as her constraints.
Judge Wolfe weighed parental fitness and medical evidence presented at earlier hearings. He said the record showed the child had developmental and medical needs that required consistent care and that the father had taken steps to arrange evaluations. The judge stressed that exchanges must be orderly and free of derogatory conduct and said he would consider motions for attorney's fees tied to the contempt proceedings.
What's next: The court asked Fenton's counsel to file an affidavit if seeking attorney's fees related to the contempt motions. The court's revised schedule and the 15-minute waiver rule take effect immediately. The suspended jail sentence remains conditional on future compliance.
