Rosie O'Donnell's daughter allowed to reunite with convicted heroin dealer she met on Tinder after judge lifts no-contact order
- Chelsea O'Donnell requested the order be lifted after turning 18
- Steven Sheerer, 25, was accused of sending her obscene images and was arrested after she was found in his home last month
- Sheerer claims he did not know Chelsea was 17 until after sending the images, his lawyer says
- The judge also reduced Sheerer's bail from $40,000 to $10,000
- Chelsea left Rosie's home as soon as she turned 18 and is now living wiht her birth mother
- She went missing from Rosie's home earlier this month before she was found with Sheerer
A request from Rosie O'Donnell's teenage daughter to lift a no-contact order with the man accused of sending her obscene images was lifted Friday by a New Jersey judge.
The judge agreed to lift the order barring contact between Chelsea O'Donnell and Steven Sheerer, 25, according to a spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.
Chelsea O'Donnell was 17 when Sheerer was arrested last month. She turned 18 on August 25
Superior Court Judge Wendel Daniels also reduced Sheerer's bail to $10,000, with an option to pay 10 percent. It was previously set at $40,000 with no 10 percent option.
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A request from Rosie O'Donnell's teenage daughter to lift a no-contact order with the man accused of sending her obscene images was lifted Friday by a New Jersey judge
The judge agreed to lift the order barring contact between Chelsea O'Donnell and Steven Sheerer, 25, who was arrested last month over allegedly inappropriate messages found on his phone
A representative for the teenager's comedian mother didn't immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Sheerer's attorney Robert Tarver said in a telephone interview Friday that the relationship between Sheerer and Chelsea O'Donnell was consensual and began on the dating website Tinder, where she identified herself as 19.
Tarver said his client did not know she was 17 until after the images were sent.
'She came to me on her own,' Tarver said in reference to Chelsea O'Donnell's request that the judge lift the order. 'She wants to make things right.'
Tarver said Sheerer has pleaded not guilty.
Sheerer was arrested at his Barnegat home and is accused of having inappropriate online communications with Chelsea O'Donnell.
She was found at his home August 18, hours after her mother posted a statement online saying she left their home in South Nyack, New York, a week earlier.
Authorities say police went to the New Jersey home and the person answering the door initially did not want to reveal the teenager's presence. Police say they told the occupant they would not leave until she came out.
Chelsea O'Donnell then appeared and willingly left with police.
Chelsea (pictured here with Rosie in 2010) left her adoptive mother's home last week as she turned 18 and has moved in with her biological mother, Deanna Micoley, in Niagara, Wisconsin
Rosie O'Donnell brought up Chelsea until her 18th birthday at her house in Nyack, New York, where she was photographed this week
Sheerer's arrest came after authorities obtained Chelsea O'Donnell's cell phone with her mother's consent, prosecutors say, and they found 'inappropriate communications' over several weeks between Sheerer and the teenager.
Authorities also seized a computer and other digital equipment at Sheerer's home when they executed a search warrant.
Court records show Sheerer pleaded guilty to drug offences in separate cases in 2012 and 2013. In each case, he was sentenced to two years' probation.
Chelsea left her adoptive mother's home last week as she turned 18 and has moved in with her biological mother, Deanna Micoley, in Niagara, Wisconsin.
'Everything is fine,' Chelsea told Daily Mail Online, as Micoley denied Rosie O'Donnell's claims that her daughter was mentally ill.
Deanna, 38, told Daily Mail Online that she wouldn't let anything jeopardize her relationship with her daughter and that Chelsea 'didn't want any more attention after everything with Rosie saying that she had a mental illness'.
The mom-of five added: 'There's nothing wrong with her [Chelsea]. She's out with family right now and she's great.'
It is a far cry from earlier this month when Chelsea, then 17, was the subject of a public appeal after she vanished from home.
She was found eight days later at the house of Sheerer, a convicted drug dealer who had also been charged with child endangerment.
Mugshots of Steve Sheerer, 25, who has a conviction for possession of a controlled substance - heroin - with intent to supply
Rosie had appealed for her daughter's safe return and written on her personal website: 'Chelsea stopped taking her medicine and is in need of medical attention'.
But in an interview with Daily Mail Online last week, Deanna expressed skepticism that her daughter was suffering from mental health problems.
'I would just shake my head at Rosie at this point,' Deanna said. 'I don't think Chelsea has mental illness and I don't think medication is something that she definitely needs.'
She suggested that the 18-year-old might benefit from a more stable, 'quieter', family life.
Rosie reportedly told Chelsea not to go with Deanna back to Wisconsin.
The TV star cut off the girl financially and was withholding her birth certificate and social security card, according to TMZ.
Deanna gave Chelsea, who she named Kayla, up for adoption in 1997 when she was 20 years old. She later had the name of her first-born tattooed above her heart.
Chelsea was found by police at this house in Barnegat Township, New Jersey. She was hiding in the attic and convicted drug dealer Steven Sheerer initially refused to let them in
Rosie tweeted these messages on the day after her daughter was found, but did not explain why
The pair were reunited for the first time last November after Chelsea reached out to her birth mom, which Deanna described as 'emotional'.
Deanna also told Daily Mail online that she did not knowingly give up Chelsea for adoption, claiming she was 'stolen' from her.
She said: 'My point of view is that I didn't give up my daughter for adoption. I was married to a guy, Lance, who was into the drug situation and he shot me up with heroin and had me sign away my rights.
'So I guess my name's on a piece of paper but I was not in my right mind to sign those papers. It took a long time for me to come to some understanding about it. You have your daughter for two months and then she's just ripped from you... It's hard.'
Rosie is seen above with her five children, Parker (left), Vivienne (front in red), Dakota (in Rosie's arms), Chelsea (back right) and Blake (front right)
Deanna Micoley told Daily Mail Online last week how she gave up her daughter at two months old
Deanna also claimed Chelsea always wanted to find her.
She said: 'In Rosie's blogs she's written about Chelsea asking for her 'tummy mummy' when she was just four.
'I'm grateful that Rosie told her about me at least. It was a one-way street - I didn't know anything about her - but she's always wanted me.'
Chelsea is the second eldest of Rosie's five children. Her son Parker was adopted in 1995, followed by Chelsea two years later.
Rosie adopted a son with her first wife, Kelli Carpenter, in 1999.
Kelli gave birth to daughter Vivienne in 2002. The couple have shared custody of the four children.
Rosie adopted a baby girl with second wife Michelle Rounds in 2013. They split earlier this year and their daughter, Dakota, is now part of a custody battle.
Rosie posted this picture of her daughter with a plea for her to come home after she left the family house for the first time. Days later O'Donnell went to police and reported Chelsea missing
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