September 4, 2014 Ogden mother i ii won t get time jail Woman's disabled kids ran away but she may have custody restored By BEN LOCKHART Standard-Examiner staff A\SC OGDEN — A woman whose children ran away in fear last August was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days of court probation and may soon have her parental custody restored. Amelia Dominguez, 29, was ordered to check in daily with the Weber County Jail during that time, rather than be incarcerated there. Dominguez will additionally serve a three-year term of general probation, during which she will be barred from drinking alcohol and required to complete her high school diploma or GED equivalent. She was also fined $603. Dominguez was charged in September 2013 with two counts of abuse or neglect of a disabled child, both third-degree felonies. One of those counts was dismissed in July in exchange for Dominguez pleading guilty to the other. Dominguez's four children, between the ages of 4 and 12, and two of them disabled, ran away in August 2013 and were reported missing before turning up at their grandparents' home in Washington Terrace. They later told Ogden police they were afraid of Dominguez. Investigators learned Dominguez acted violently toward her daughter one evening and then threatened all four of her See MOM, Page 4A Dominguez Mom From 1A children that she would kill them if they left their apartment while she went to a bar with her boyfriend. Dominguez also told police that she hated her children and was sick of them. They were placed in the care of the Division of Child and Family Services as a result of the investigation. Dominguez's defense attorney, Paul Remy, told 2nd District Judge Noel Hyde on Tuesday his client has changed her life and her demeanor. Jail time would make it extremely difficult for Dominguez to regain parental custody, he said. "She's changed her friends," Remy said. "She is completely focused on getting her kids back.... (When I first worked with her), she had a poor attitude, she was argumentative, she was difficult. But over the last six months she has completely turned it around." Dominguez also told Hyde she wanted her children back. "I just really don't want to go to jail," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "I really don't want to lose my kids." Hyde was stern as he handed down his sentence, assuring Dominguez she "will spend whatever time remaining in custody" if she violates any of the terms of her probation. "That is not acceptable parenting," Hyde said of Dominguez's crime. "I hope that has been made loud and clear.... You must place the welfare of your children as your highest priority ... and not your own enjoyment." Dominguez was taken into the Weber County Jail after Tuesday's hearing but was only expected to stay one night incarcerated there. She was ordered to speak with jail officials during her short stay about her upcoming daily reporting requirements. Contact reporter Ben Lockhart at 801-625-4221 or blockhart@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @SE_Lockhart. Like his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/block- hartSE.