Faces of the Crisis Stories
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Sara
USA There was so much evidence of abuse by my ex, the criminal court judge granted a restraining order for both my son and me in less than 15 minutes. Despite this active criminal protective order, the family court judge forced me to send my son on unsupervised visits when he was just 9 months old. He would come home from visits distraught, ending up in the ER several times because he was inconsolable and displayed other concerning symptoms. But he was too little and too afraid to tell me what was going on. |
Instead of the judge being concerned, I was accused of "Munchausen’s by proxy" and told I had to send my son on unsupervised visits or face jail for contempt. I was also ordered to sop breastfeeding as it interfered with the father's visitation.
My ex committed multiple restraining order violations, stalking, assaults, vehicle tampering, got DUI's, and there were police reports of child endangerment. He was even committed to a mental hospital for violence on the job and was diagnosed with dual addictions and cluster B personality disorders. But the judge and all the others who were supposed to help us ignored this evidence of his unfitness.
At age 5, when our son was old enough to find the words, he divulged heart-breaking abuse that had been happening since before he could speak about it, and also that his father had threatened to kill both of us if he told. There were reports filed by mandatory reporters with heart-breaking audio recordings of our son telling about the abuse...and again no one who was supposed to help us cared.
After he disclosed the abuse, my ex filed for full custody. Our son was terrified, even afraid to go to school, saying his father would shoot us because he told.
I fought hard for years to protect my son, but ran out of money after he launched a full scale custody battle that spanned 2 states. I was left representing myself in the middle of our last trial with none of my files, after the attorney I paid 25K bailed on me after throwing my case.
I was accused of "parental alienation" but I was not allowed to present evidence, witnesses, or allowed to cross examine theirs. Because I was pro se, I could not question myself, and I was prevented from seeing the evidence presented against me.
Custody was flipped and I was given just 2 hours to drive across town to pick up my son from summer camp, pack a bag, and hand over my little boy to our abuser. There was no time for emotional preparation or goodbyes before a gloating father took him 1100 miles away to another state.
There is no parenting plan in the order, so my ex is in control of when I can see or talk to my son. I have seen my boy 5 times in the last 3 years at great cost (2200 miles of travel plus $100/hour for a monitor). We are not allowed to speak on the phone, text, email or send pictures.
My ex has threatened to take our son and hide him “where you’ll never find him". He just got a restraining order against me without cause, prior notification, or the required service of documents...so as to prevent me from inquiring where he lives and knowing where my son is.
I can only imagine what my son has been through and the added abuse he has suffered since telling about the abuse. It has almost killed me.
My ex committed multiple restraining order violations, stalking, assaults, vehicle tampering, got DUI's, and there were police reports of child endangerment. He was even committed to a mental hospital for violence on the job and was diagnosed with dual addictions and cluster B personality disorders. But the judge and all the others who were supposed to help us ignored this evidence of his unfitness.
At age 5, when our son was old enough to find the words, he divulged heart-breaking abuse that had been happening since before he could speak about it, and also that his father had threatened to kill both of us if he told. There were reports filed by mandatory reporters with heart-breaking audio recordings of our son telling about the abuse...and again no one who was supposed to help us cared.
After he disclosed the abuse, my ex filed for full custody. Our son was terrified, even afraid to go to school, saying his father would shoot us because he told.
I fought hard for years to protect my son, but ran out of money after he launched a full scale custody battle that spanned 2 states. I was left representing myself in the middle of our last trial with none of my files, after the attorney I paid 25K bailed on me after throwing my case.
I was accused of "parental alienation" but I was not allowed to present evidence, witnesses, or allowed to cross examine theirs. Because I was pro se, I could not question myself, and I was prevented from seeing the evidence presented against me.
Custody was flipped and I was given just 2 hours to drive across town to pick up my son from summer camp, pack a bag, and hand over my little boy to our abuser. There was no time for emotional preparation or goodbyes before a gloating father took him 1100 miles away to another state.
There is no parenting plan in the order, so my ex is in control of when I can see or talk to my son. I have seen my boy 5 times in the last 3 years at great cost (2200 miles of travel plus $100/hour for a monitor). We are not allowed to speak on the phone, text, email or send pictures.
My ex has threatened to take our son and hide him “where you’ll never find him". He just got a restraining order against me without cause, prior notification, or the required service of documents...so as to prevent me from inquiring where he lives and knowing where my son is.
I can only imagine what my son has been through and the added abuse he has suffered since telling about the abuse. It has almost killed me.