Lakeville Father Asks Court for Permission to See Son He's Accused of Abandoning

A Dakota County judge plans to decide soon whether a Lakeville man accused of abandoning his 11-year-old son in July and sending him to live with neighbors should be allowed to see the child.

, Steven Alexander Cross, 60, is accused of leaving behind two notes, one for his son and one for his neighbors, and fleeing Minnesota in mid-July, leaving his son behind. The boy has been subject to state protective services since then. 

However, Cross—, living in his van and working at a deli—has asked the court for permission to see his son. 

Cross was brought back to Minnesota and jailed until Sept. 29, when he posted a $6,000 bond. He has been living with friends since then.

Cross’s attorney, Jeff Priest, told the Pioneer Press this week that Cross “desperately” wants to see his son, who is living with a maternal aunt but remains under the jurisdiction of state protective services, since he was considered an abandoned child.

Through his attorney, Cross asked the court to void the protective services petition, arguing that county social services employees hadn’t proved that the boy was abandoned and in need of help.

In his note to his son, Cross told him to take his PlayStation and go to live with their neighbors, John and Joanne Pahl. The tearful boy arrived at the Pahls’ home on the morning of July 18.

Cross had told his son that his mother, Katik Porter—to whom Cross was never married—was dead. In the note he left before fleeing Minnesota, he told him she was alive.

Porter, 38, , when her parental rights were revoked. She has also asked the court for permission to see him, and her attorney says she is complying with a requirement to undergo psychological and parenting assessments—to which Cross must also submit. 

The next child protection review hearing in the Cross case is scheduled Dec. 21.