Maryland Father Accused of Abuse over Broken Bones – Both Children Removed from Home of Loving Parents

Max and Justine Gibbs were blessed with their second child on February 15th, 2014 in Lexington Park, Maryland. When their daughter was 8 weeks old, Max noticed her leg was swollen. With Justine being a nurse, they trusted the medical profession and believed that they would provide assistance to their daughter. Hospital test results showed 3 ribs and one femur were fractured in their daughter. The questioning of abuse began and the Gibbs described the questioning as an interrogation. Maintaining his innocence, Max was arrested on 2 counts of child abuse and 2 counts of assault. Max had never been in trouble with the law, he was terrified and couldn’t believe what was happening. Max and Justine took matters into their own hands and started researching. Justine went through testing and was diagnosed with Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. This type of EDS is classified as loose joints and chronic joint pain, a connective tissue disorder. Believing their daughter to also have EDS, the Gibbs requested that she see a geneticist. The judge will not clear Max of all charges until the geneticist sees their daughter, and talks to the CPS abuse specialist. Although the doctor has contacted the abuse specialist, not just by phone several times but additionally by email, the abuse specialist has not returned any communication. The abuse specialist is now stating, according to the Gibbs family, that she does not have to abide by the court order and speak to the doctor. So their daughter still remains unseen by the geneticist, even though there is a court order in place, as CPS plans to adopt out both children.