Children Remain Resilient During Custody Dispute

While Tonya Craft battles in court with her ex-husband Joel Henke, the couple's children remain, for the most part, unaffected by their parent's dispute, as reported by the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

In the five-week trial that examines child molestation charges lodged against Craft, 37, and sordid details about both of their private lives, witnesses have continually testified that the children are stable.

One such witness, Kendra Svoboda, described the two children as "very resilient." The children, a 10-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, attend Westview Elementary School where Svoboda is a teacher.

Svoboda also remarked, "I think they are doing remarkably well considering the circumstances."

A former teacher in North Georgia, Craft, had lost custody of her children and visitation rights in June of 2008.  At that time she had been accused of inappropriately touching her daughter as well as two friends of her daughter's.

Hamilton County Circuit Court is expected to take a minimum of four days to settle the dispute between Craft and Henke and determine who will have primary custody. 

In May, a Georgia state court ruled Craft not guilty on 22 counts of child molestation, aggravated child molestation and aggravated sexual battery. 

Witnesses - teachers from the school and workers at Henke's Eastwood church - attested to the couple as being loving and supportive parents.  The children reportedly had good grades, excellent behavior and healthy social lives before Craft had full custody in 2008, and since. 

Laura Smith, director of the children's ministry at Eastwood Church said, "I see a family that's secure, very loving and very kind."

Craft has filed a $25 million federal lawsuit against her ex-husband, the Catoosa County government, and child therapists for conspiracy and manipulating the children that accused her of molestation and sexual battery.

Henke contends that he never pushed the criminal case to court and said, "It wasn't mine to stop.  This wasn't about me. I was concerned with anything that would be of danger to my children. I reacted with the best I knew to do at that time, which was cooperation."

He directed his children to their therapists for answers about their mother's case.  Henke continued, "We sheltered them from the news. We sheltered them from the media. We avoided that. They didn't see computers, television."

In regards to Craft's involvement with their children Henke said, "She's tenacious, intelligent.  When she sets her mind on something, she doesn't stop. She is very focused. I think both of our children can learn from that. I do think she loves the children."

Craft's attorney asked Henke about denying Craft visitation in the last two years.  Henke said that the holidays that Craft asked to see the children on, Mother's Day and birthdays, the children spent with his current wife.

Attorneys showed Sarah Henke's Facebook posts that elicited how thankful she was to spend special days with Craft's children, though Henke testified he didn't recall the exact dates.

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