Cherokee County, NC man says he was tricked into signing over custody of daughter
CHEROKEE COUNTY, N.C. — UPDATE: The N.C. State Bureau of Investigation is now investigating Cherokee County DSS.
A Cherokee County, North Carolina man says the county Department of Social Services forced him to sign an agreement that gave away all of his rights to take care of his daughter.
We first told you this story a couple of weeks ago.
The county Department of Social Services has since been taken over by the state and that man is suing the county.
"I would have never thought in a million years that somebody would take my kid and me not do nothing about it," Brian Hogan said.
A couple of years ago, Brian Hogan was dealing with everyone's worst nightmare.
"My wife Amanda, she had a heart attack and I left Hannah with some friends of mine where I could get to Asheville and take care of Amanda," Hogan explained.
Hogan says a teacher at Hannah's school said she smelled like a cat and contacted the Department of Social Services.
That's when, he says, he was forced to sign a Custody and Visitation Agreement.
The lawsuit Hogan and his attorneys filed says it's an illegal document that bypasses a court order from a judge.
"They were going to give her to the state and they didn't know where she'd go," Hogan explained what the supervisor for DSS told him.
Hogan signed the agreement thinking he was giving his father custody until he got back home.
He says a social worker told him it was his only option.
Hogan says he couldn't even read what they gave him.
When Brittany asked Hogan "Do you feel like you were taken advantage of?" Hogan answered "Yes ma'am. Completely."
The lawsuit Hogan has filed against the county and Department of Social Services says Hogan was not the only one.
In a transcript, attorney Scott Lindsay said they'd signed dozens of them since he started almost 20 years ago.
Lindsay has since been fired as their attorney.
Read more about the case here.
