A mother has filed a civil rights lawsuit against several Nassau County agencies, including the Nassau County Department of Social Services and The Safe Center, Long Island, alleging the wrongful removal of her child from her custody.
According to the lawsuit filed by plaintiff Lauren Hughes on March 25, 2022, her child fell off a trampoline, resulting in facial bruising. Despite medical professionals at Cohen Children Medical Center determining that the injuries were not consistent with abuse, a report by City MD led to an investigation by Nassau County Child Protective Services (CPS). Hughes claims that this investigation was conducted improperly and without just cause. "Defendants arbitrarily pursued an abuse investigation," Hughes states in her complaint, asserting that CPS's actions resulted in her losing temporary custody of her child to the non-custodial father, Ryan Mahoney. This decision was allegedly based on misstatements and omissions by CPS investigators.
Hughes accuses the defendants of violating her Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 by depriving her of due process and engaging in an unreasonable seizure of her child. She alleges that CPS failed to conduct a proper investigation or consider exculpatory evidence that would have supported her innocence. Furthermore, she claims that the defendants engaged in malicious prosecution by instructing Mahoney to file for custody modification and an order of protection based on false information.
Hughes is seeking compensatory damages for emotional distress and financial losses incurred while defending herself against these allegations. Additionally, she requests declaratory relief to correct records falsely indicating neglect or abuse and injunctions preventing future unlawful removals or interference with custodial rights.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Glenn J. Wurzel of Wurzel L. PLLC. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Case ID: 2:25-cv-01706.