During the two-hour visit, Johnson spent nearly all her time with the boys in the McDonald's playroom.
TRENTON - Sheena Johnson, the mother who spent several nights inside a Ewing storage locker with her 5-year-old and 10-year-old boys, was finally able to see her sons during a court-supervised visit Monday afternoon, a former municipal judge who is the trustee of the fund set up to provide for the family said yesterday.
The former judge, Debra Gelson, drove Johnson to a Ewing McDonald’s where the mother and her boys were reunited after a month-and-a-half apart.
“They were just hugging her and clinging to her and kissing all over the place,” Gelson said. “I’ve never seen happier children; I’ve never seen more beautiful children.”
Johnson was arrested and her children taken into custody of the state on April 18. The arrest in Trenton came after Johnson punctured the tire of her ex-boyfriend’s car, after what she and Gelson said was an argument about driving the boys to school.
Questions by a Trenton police officer revealed the boys were in the storage locker in Ewing, and Johnson was charged with two counts of child endangerment after they were found inside. The children are still in foster care, and Johnson had not been allowed to see them until a Family Court judge set up the visitation date during a hearing last Friday.
“They were right by the window when we were pulling in; they were right there watching for their mom,” Gelson said.
Their reactions came immediately when their mother stepped from the car and into their view, Gelson said.
“Well, the faces were just priceless. They started jumping up and down, banging against the window, they were so excited,” she said. “And they just — oh, my God — they are the most beautiful children.”
During the two-hour visit, Johnson spent nearly all her time with the boys in the McDonald’s playroom. Johnson later told Gelson they showed their mother artwork and school projects. A case worker from the Department of Children and Families was present and supervised the visit.
Johnson will get to spend some more time with her boys today. Johnson offered to help the case worker take the boys to the dentist because they are nervous about the visit, Gelson said. The case worker consented.
Gelson, who now practices law, said Johnson is taking her case to trial in Family Court on June 12. “It’s all about whether or not they can substantiate abandonment,” Gelson said of the prosecution.
“I think the perception is she was living there for the full 30 days,” she said of the storage locker. “That’s the furthest thing from the truth.”
Johnson’s separate child endangerment and criminal mischief case will have a hearing in Superior Court Thursday morning, Gelson said.
When an interview in The Times carried Johnson’s side of the story, local residents stepped up and bailed her out. Lawrence consultant Dan Toto and Trenton restaurant owner Olugbala Sababu set up a fundraiser and trust fund for Johnson, and supported her bid to be back with her children.
“Though we respect the laws of the state and understand the intent of them, we know they were clearly not meant for this mother to be without her children,” Toto said last night.
“We understand the spirit of the law, and we understand the intent of the laws,” he said.
As Johnson waits for repair work to be completed on a home provided rent-free by Turning Point United Methodist Church, she has spent most nights with Gelson at her Freehold home.
“I don’t bring everybody home with me,” Gelson said.
The former judge believes in Johnson, and said she wants to work with everyone else in the community to help the 27-year-old mother find her way from a bad situation to a happy home.
“I could not say I would have done anything different than she did,” Gelson said. “There was no other option.”
Contact Alex Zdan at azdan@njtimes.com or (609) 989-5705.
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