Ex still hitting our teen kids
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Anonymous
| This is a crime, a felony, specifically aggravated assault of a minor. Report to the police, file a police report, police will report to the DA and the DA will handle it. This is actually a criminal charge and separate from any custody or family law matter. It’s an entirely separate court system. This will be handled by the DA and you will not incur legal costs related to these charges, unless you fail to act in which case you will also be charged with neglect. |
Anonymous
| These kids should be removed from both of you. |
Anonymous
|
OP- I understand your concern. Kids are returned to unsafe family situations all the time. This is especially true if there is no evidence and it turns into the child’s word against the father. It could escalate the situation and be more abusive for the kids during dad’s time.
Can the kids call you the next time it happens or call 911 themselves? You need to take them to the doctor or have them take pictures and record events. They have to tell a third party, such as a therapist, teacher or school counselor; otherwise the judges/court system may think you are claiming abuse to gain full custody. The above actions may seem easy to an outsider but is actually really hard for children to turn in a parent who they may still love or care about. You need to contact a lawyer on next steps to prevent the kids from being taken away from you. Determine what evidence that you have- did the kids disclose abuse to friends? Did others notice bruises/marks? It is a complicated situation that you want to handle carefully with a court system that is not friendly to moms who claim abuse of kids. See the research from GW Law: https://www.law.gwu.edu/gendered-trap%25E2%2580%2599-when-mothers-allege-child-abuse-fathers-mothers-often-lose-custody-study-shows |
Anonymous
Anonymous
| Please get the kids out of his care, OP. Those poor kids need your protection. |