Legal battle ends for family who lived in a 'large rectangular box,' according to police
A legal battle that drew national attention and sparked debate about the criminalization of poverty has come to a close with a brief ruling by a California judge.
Charges have been dropped against Mona Kirk and Daniel Panico, the parents who were accused of child abuse and neglect after they were found living in squalor with their three children. Upon their discovery by officials, the parents were arrested and separated for more than two months from their kids.
Now that the fight is over, the family will resume their lives in a new home purchased with donations from the community.
"How do you celebrate when you wake up from a nightmare?" Kirk wrote in an email to The Desert Sun on Thursday. "You breathe a big sigh of relief, and get on with your life."
The ruling came on Dec. 14 in state Superior Court in Joshua Tree, when Judge Joel Agron issued an order dismissing charges of willful cruelty to a child and failure to address truancy.
Kirk said the children spent the day after the dismissal in their pajamas building gingerbread houses "because they finally felt safe."
The ruling concluded a legal drama that unfolded in February after San Bernardino sheriff's deputies discovered Kirk and Panico's children in a littered dirt lot between Twentynine Palms and Joshua Tree, located in the high desert about 45 miles north of Palm Springs and about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.
According to the sheriff's department's initial news release in February, the children "have lived in the large rectangular box ... for approximately four years."
Upon their discovery, Kirk and Panico were arrested and charged with felony child abuse. The three children were relocated to the home of Panico's sister and brother-in-law in Pismo Beach.
But Kirk, Panico and their supporters shot back at the accusations of abuse and neglect, arguing that the family didn't have much, but they made the most of their resources. Kirk told The Desert Sun in May that the children "never missed a meal."
"You can be incarcerated and lose your children due to living unconventionally. Our children were well cared for at all times, and we had ample proof, yet we suffered being in jail for six days and our children suffered being in someone else's home 200 miles away for almost 2 1/2 months," Kirk said in the email. "We are a loving family who used to respect public agencies, such as law enforcement, courts and social services."
In May, a San Bernardino juvenile court judge allowed the family to be reunited. Kirk and Panico pleaded not guilty to three counts of child abuse. Their charges were later downgraded to misdemeanors.
After the reunification, Kirk and Panico treated their children to a trip to the grocery store for ice cream. One child chose orange-vanilla, one chose cherry-vanilla and the third got chocolate truffle.
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At the time of their arrest, the family was living off of Panico's Social Security benefits and some money they earned watching a Joshua Tree vacation home, which all amounted to about $578 a month. Friends and neighbors also supported the family with food, clothing and furniture.
Three days after the arrests, a close family friend, Jackie Klear, launched a GoFundMe page that has since raised more than $66,000. It notes that Kirk ran the community's Mommy and Me class at the Yucca Valley Community Center. According to Klear, the couple's daughters participated in a wide range of activities, including soccer and Girl Scouts.
The page also describes the family's financial struggles, including a series of displacements.
Kirk said the conclusion of the family's "nightmare" has forever affected the children, but the family of five are ready to move forward.
"Our life will never be the same, but we are focusing on our children's education, extracurricular activities, and healing as a family," she said. "We will continue to pursue our goals individually and as a family."
Follow Joe Hong on Twitter: @jjshong5.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Legal battle ends for family who lived in a 'large rectangular box,' according to police
