My 6yo niece is being abused, don't what to do, please help!

My 6 year old niece is in a very bad situation and it seems to be getting worse. I don't know what I can do at this point but I'm ready to do things I probably shouldn't say (sorry- I'm not a violent person but I do NOT understand how an adult can hurt a sweet child). So I want to know if I have any legal rights to make this stop. My niece and I are very close, I don't have children, but I adore her and we've had a special bond since she was born.

She is my sister's child. When my sister and the child's father separated, the father seemed to have it more together than my sister did. But only for about 6 months. At that time, the father then moved in his girlfriend, who is one of the most hateful women I've ever met. This woman was with a child molester before getting with my niece's dad, and this woman was knowingly with this man, even though she had a young daughter. This was the first red flag. I knew any woman that lacked enough care for her own daughter had no business being around my niece. She smoked in the house around my niece (and this was a breach of the housing lease too) and the father lied about it to our family- even though we could smell it on her hair and her clothes. The verbal and emotional abuse then finally started being talked about. My niece has finally started speaking out more, but for a long time when we would ask her where marks on her body came from, she would make up stories and change them, and would often tell us she wasn't allowed to tell us what would happen. We had cause to believe that they were threatening her not to tell and telling her she wouldn't get to see her daddy if she told. My sister and the father had come to an agreement in court, and he has already broken most of the agreements in the custody and parental rights contract that was written up between their lawyers. When she stays with the father, he doesn't put her in pj's at night, he doesn't change her clothes AT ALL the whole time she's there (5 days at a time sometimes). He also doesn't bathe her. He once didn't brush her teeth for TWO WEEKS. She still needs help wiping when she goes #2 and the dad's girl friend refuses to let him do it. The father's girlfriend makes fun of my niece, tells her not to cry, calls her names (anything from a cry baby to a f*ck) and recently told her she'd "make her life a living hell". My niece told me a few months ago that the girlfriend's 11 yo daughter had "made her do woo woo", which after further discussion I discovered this meant that the 11 yo was naked, on top of my niece, making her be the girl and pretending to be the boy and enacting sex. My niece told her social worker this, and the social worker sent a note home saying they talked about inappropriate touching and boundaries. I really don't feel like anyone is doing my niece the justice she deserves. DCFS has been called, and nothing seems to have happened. The latest is today she had a mark on her neck and a mark on her cheek. She said the girlfriend had spanked her (which is a breach of the parenting/custody contract), had her hands around her neck (hence the mark) and slapped her on the face. I don't know what I can do, IF anything but if there's something I can do, I need to. I'm at my wit's end with this situation and I'm tired of seeing my niece suffer and I feel so helpless. I don't feel like anyone (including her mother) is fighting hard enough for her safety. Please if anyone has any idea of what I can do legally, please let me know. I'm worried for her well-being, on all levels!

Dear 1984:

What is your sister, her mother, doing to protect her daughter?

Why is she at the father's place five days at a time..... why is she there at all? Is her mother doing anything???

If neither of her parents is protecting her and child services doesn't either, save her yourself, take her away and far away and disappear, legally disappear, change name, and get the girl away.

atina

Although I totally understand where the last poster is coming from, it really wouldn't be right to just run off with your niece, legally or morally. You could find yourself in serious trouble for one, but it would also affect that little girl, possibly forever.

I am not sure why your sister is not taking action here, but it sounds to me like she should be seeing her lawyer again and if she doesn't then perhaps you should. The original order needs to be re-visited, and if your sister doesn't take steps to protect her child from harm, she may well find that the authorities will remove your niece from her care. That's what would probably happen in the UK anyway. The answer is very simple - contact with her father should be restricted and supervised. A lawyer will tell you how you can do that legally.

You can make written reports to the local police department and child protective services, about what you observe (what you see) and what the child tells you. This builds a case.