A summons to appear in court has been issued for a Bloomfield man on interference with custody charges after he allegedly failed to return his son after weekend visitation. 

Jerry Rogers II has been summoned to appear in Greene Superior Court on Feb. 2. The summons came after a Dec. 13 report alleging he failed to return his son, who will be referred to as Victim 1, to his mother’s after a weekend visit. According to a probable cause affidavit written by Greene County Sheriff’s Department Det. Shawn Cullison, the mother reported she and Rogers are separated and were never married. She said Victim 1 lives with her and she takes care of him. 

The mother reported Rogers had picked Victim 1 up on Dec. 8 for the weekend and was to drop him off on Dec. 11. Since he did not return Victim 1 on Dec. 11, she had to contact the school to let them know he would be absent. 

She said she made several attempts to reach Rogers via phone but was unsuccessful. According to the probable cause affidavit, she was able to make contact with one of his relatives. She told Det. Cullison that on Dec. 13, Rogers called her and informed her he had moved to Indianapolis with Victim 1. He provided her with a mailing address in Plainfield, but she did not know where they were living. She alleged this was done so without her permission. 

Det. Cullison spoke with the mother again on Dec. 20 and according to the probable cause she alleged Rogers had enrolled Victim 1 at a school in Plainfield. She told Det. Cullison she had not spoken to Rogers since Dec. 13 and still did not know where he was living. She alleged Rogers had yet to return Victim 1.

According to the probable cause affidavit, she and Rogers have never had a custody agreement established. She did provide Det. Cullison with a paternity affidavit from the hospital when Victim 1 was born. Per the affidavit, Rogers checked a box stating, “I do NOT wish to share joint legal custody of this child and understand this affidavit may still be used to establish paternity if other sections are completed properly.” That section was signed by both parties. The following line of the affidavit was initialed by both parties, “If you have chosen NOT to share joint legal custody, the mother has SOLE legal custody unless another determination is made in a court proceeding under Indiana Code 31-14.” The Paternity Affidavit is from the Indiana State Department of Health.