Brittney Corter, mother to 10-year-old Kylie, lost her only child this week via an Emergency Protective Custody order (EPC) issued by Judge Jan Bromell-Holmes. In what originated as a private, contentious “family” court action between parents, Ms. Corter states that a state-sponsored kidnapping soon followed.
According to the mother, she and Kylie’s father had separated in New York following a substantiated DSS finding of Kylie’s dad in addition to multiple calls for domestic violence and protective orders. Fleeing from a volatile situation, Ms. Corter moved to Lake City, S.C. in 2021; unfortunately, shortly after her move, she was the victim of a home invasion that robbed them of essentially everything she owned.
On the heels of that tragedy, she was served with court documents filed by Kylie’s father in S.C. in which he – and his mother – sought to take custody of the daughter from whom he had largely been restrained in NY. Desperate to fight for her daughter, she provided Indigo Law Firm with the proceeds from her insurance settlement in exchange for their representation of her in court. She stated that Laura Moyer, Esq., had been appointed as guardian ad litem (GAL) and routinely bills her, but she cannot see where her daughter’s best interests have been served by Moyer’s involvement in their case.
Bromell-Holmes declared in a “Complaint for Removal” dated February 13, 2024, that Kylie was harmed or threatened with harm because counseling had not occurred as the court deemed it proper to order. The court claimed that this “clear and convincing evidence” found that the child was/is at “unreasonable risk of harm” since certain counseling had not occurred.
Kylie’s Mom in her own Words…
Ms. Corter further explained that, though she is not an attorney, she questions if she was truly represented since the litigation began in S.C. She is also concerned that the judges may not be following the law and taking liberties that are actually causing harm to her daughter.
She further explains that – in the hearing on Tuesday – Judge Bromell-Holmes ordered the bailiff to take her 10-year-old into the jail to show her what will happen to her if she does not “love everybody.” To her horror, she watched her young daughter (who addressed the judge with a polite “yes ma’am”), be shown the bailiff’s handcuffs, though he explained that she was not under arrest – YET.
Title 63 in S.C. Code of Laws (Section 63-7-710) provides that “family court shall schedule a probable cause hearing to be held within seventy-two hours of the time the child was taken into emergency protective custody. If the third day falls upon a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, the probable cause hearing must be held no later than the next working day. If there is no term of court in the county when the probable cause hearing must be held, the hearing must be held in another county in the circuit. If there is no term of family court in another county in the circuit, the probable cause hearing may be heard in another court in an adjoining circuit.“
This news outlet has been informed that an advocacy group is planning to set up a GoFundMe so that Ms. Corter can receive support from others who understand her plight. We will continue to follow this evolving tragedy.