Nazi Named Children Will Stay in State Custody, Judge Ruled
A couple who faced public criticism for naming their children after notable Nazi figures has lost custody of their children following a court ruling.
A New Jersey Superior Court judge handed down his decision on Thursday and stipulated that the parents would not be able to have custody of their four children, who have been under state supervisor for nearly 3 years.
Heath and Deborah Campbell, who have previously stated that are Neo-Nazis, came into the national spotlight in January 2009 after a highly publicized story detailing a ShopRite employee's refusal to personalize a birthday cake with the Nazi name of one of the children.
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Soon after the incident, the child protective services took the children; Adolf Hitler Campbell, 6, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, 5, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeanne, 6, according to AP.
The couple also lost custody of their fourth child soon after he was born back in November 2011.
Previously, authorities explained they were not allowed to comment on active cases. An appeals court last year ruled that parents would not regain custody because both suffered from unspecified physical and psychological disabilities that put the children at serious risk.
The judge also issued a gag order preventing the lawyers from both sides from discussing the case, but the children's father stated that he was upset with the ruling. He explained that the children were never abused and that they were taken because of their names.
"If I have to give up my Nazism, then so be it. I'll do it," Heath Campbell told the Star-Ledger. "[The children are] more my heart and soul and everything than anything."
New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services spokeswoman Kristine Brown explained that they take any evidence of child abuse very seriously.
"Every call or investigation that DYFS initiates at the end of the day is to determine if the child is at risk or in the midst of child abuse and neglect," Brown stated.
