Opinion
July 20, 1992
Appeal from the Family Court, Queens County (Torres, J.).
Ordered that the order of disposition is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
The petitioner met its burden of establishing by a preponderance of the evidence that 5-year-old Marigrace had been abused by the mother (see, Family Ct Act § 1012 [e] [iii]). Marigrace's out-of-court statements that her mother merely watched and cried while Marigrace's father raped and anally sodomized her, which were corroborated by her sister's out-of-court statements, the validating expert's testimony, and medical evidence, were sufficient to make out a prima facie case (see, Matter of Christina F., 74 N.Y.2d 532; Matter of Nicole V., 71 N.Y.2d 112; Matter of P. Children, 172 A.D.2d 839; Matter of Tania J., 147 A.D.2d 252). The mother failed to offer a satisfactory explanation to rebut the petitioner's evidence.
Furthermore, the evidence that Marigrace's father committed these acts in front of Marigrace's siblings while their mother was present, the mother's failure to acknowledge the children's statements, and her denial of the abuse, is sufficient to support a finding that they were derivatively abused by the mother (see, Matter of James P., 137 A.D.2d 461; Matter of Cruz, 121 A.D.2d 901; Matter of Christina Maria C., 89 A.D.2d 855).
We find that the Family Court properly placed the children with the Commissioner for a period of one year (see, Matter of Antonelli v. Department of Social Servs., 155 A.D.2d 598).
We have reviewed the petitioner's remaining contentions and find them to be without merit. Mangano, P.J., Balletta, Lawrence and Copertino, JJ., concur.