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Boy in custody fight beaten, police say

GLENVIEW, Ill. - A 4-year-old boy who was taken from his Florida adoptive parents after a wrenching custody battle was recently harmed by his stepfather, an Illinois social services official said Thursday.

Michael Hopkins, 28, was charged Monday with misdemeanor domestic battery.

Amanda Hopkins, Michael Hopkins' wife and the boy's biological mother, took custody of the child in January after winning a court dispute with his adoptive parents, a North Florida couple who raised him.

Glenview police said their investigation showed Michael Hopkins "caused physical harm to a family member" while "performing parental discipline." Diane Jackson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, on Thursday said the agency received a telephoned tip about alleged abuse of the boy, Evan, at the home and notified police. Amanda Hopkins' 2-year-old daughter also lives in the home, Jackson said.

"We've done everything we could to protect this child from a situation exactly like this," said Susan Pniewski, an attorney who represented Dawn and Gene Scott, the adoptive parents.

The Scotts gave Evan up in an emotional handoff to the Hopkinses in January.

The Hopkinses phone was disconnected Thursday.

[Last modified November 4, 2005, 02:00:09]