Romeoville Woman Claims DCFS Took Her Kids, Gave Custody To Abuser's Family

A Romeoville woman has filed a complaint accusing Department of Children and Family Service Workers of coercion and intimidation, saying they took her 15-month-old twins and gave custody to relatives of her abusive former boyfriend.

Rochelle Vermeulen, 29, in the complaint states that she left her allegedly abusive in August and moved in with her stepfather in Romeoville, WJOL reported. Shortly after her move, someone called DCFS and claimed that her new home had mold.

Vermuelen claims that without even verifying the mold claim, a DCFS worker used intimidation to get her to take her children to a homeless shelter, according to the Sun-Times. The worker then allegedly removed her children and forced her to sign an “out of home” safety plan before placing the toddlers with the brother and sister-in-law of Vermuelen’s alleged abuser.

Vermuelen accused her former boyfriend of “choking her, hitting her in the face, throwing her against the wall and body slamming her onto the top of a dog cage,” the Sun-Times reported.

“I couldn’t believe they didn’t care about me being abused and me trying to leave my abuser. [One of the caseworkers] told me: ‘You should have left him sooner.’ I believe they just basically took my abuser’s side,” Vermuelen told the newspaper. Click here to read the full story.

The Family Defense Center has reportedly come to Vermuelen’s aid, and her children were returned to her custody earlier this month.