Redlands mother stung by untrue suspicions presses for accountability in child abuse inquiries

Redlands mother stung by untrue suspicions presses for accountability in child abuse inquiries

"There were a few nights, sitting on my bunk bed, when I thought I would never see my parents again," he recalled of his time in foster care. "It was really awful, terrifying."

Allegations that Samuel's mother, Leslie Udvardi, suffers from Munchausen syndrome by proxy -- a mental disorder in which a parent lies about a child's illness, or inflicts injuries, to get attention from doctors -- were dropped at the start of a San Bernardino County Juvenile Court trial. And the judge, who criticized the county's expert witness, dismissed a petition by the county to have the four children permanently removed from their parents' custody.

Now Leslie Udvardi and her husband, Kirk, seek to change state and federal laws that they say grant immunity from civil suits to social workers and other officials who investigate allegations of child abuse.