Child custody cases continue

The status of the children formerly in the care of Dawn and Nicole Ammesmaki remains the same after several court appearances in the past month. The two sisters, who once had 10 children in their care, continue to see some of them on supervised visits and the hope that they can soon have unsupervised visits. The cases aren’t likely to be resolved in the courts until at least this fall, as the court calendar has filled up and assessments of the fitness of the two mothers are continuing.

In early May, Nicole Ammesmaki entered a not guilty plea in a case separate from the custody cases. She was charged in March by the Carlton County Attorney’s Office with three counts of malicious punishment of a child. Ammesmaki will have an omnibus hearing on the charges on July 6. Kayla Hansen, who once cared for Ammesmaki’s children in day care, faces charges of not reporting abuse. She also pleaded not guilty and will have a pretrial hearing on July 11.

Nicole Ammesmaki is scheduled for a pretrial hearing regarding the custody of her children on May 31.

Dawn Ammesmaki had what was supposed to be a pretrial hearing last week but it has been delayed to Aug. 9. Parties involved in the case have agreed to wait for a new psychological evaluation before proceeding in court.

Judge Rebekka Stumme ordered the “status quo” regarding the placement of Ammesmaki’s children out of her care with a goal of expanding her visitation rights as the court process drags on.