Editor’s note: The following email was sent by a woman whom we’ll call “Eralyn.”
I have been “lurking” (I guess it’s called) your site for quite some time. I want to thank you for your website as I am grateful to see people who know and understand the insanity of all of this.
I have decided to write to you as I read the posts of women who have very young children with a sociopath and they sound so much like me a decade ago that I cannot in good conscience keep quiet. While I don’t want to cause any more fear than they are already living with, I do want them to be warned and keep their guard up. They need to know the way things are going in the court system down the road.
Poking holes in the condom
My daughter is 13 years old and I have owned a small business for 21 years and a home for 18 years. Not so much as a traffic ticket and I have been a single mother for the entire time. I got pregnant by an out of character fling. I found out from his best friend “for some reason he’s picked you and be careful as he’s the type to poke holes in a condom.” I didn’t take heed to the warning and there I was. My spath said his best friend was a pathological liar. He was the liar. I found out much later.
During the pregnancy, I believe when he realized I wouldn’t marry him or the permanency of his actions, he made threats to cut my baby from stomach and kill us all. I found out when a SWAT team was at my home to save me. He was sent to an inpatient mental hospital and diagnosed with BPD w/anti-social traits and much, much more. Chronic Auditory Hallucinations of the devil.
I found out what I was dealing with over the next year or so and had the baby, I also thought, as your other posters say, that if I didn’t ask for child support, or if I played this a certain way, he’d leave us alone. My baby is the love of my life even at 13years old. I had 3 years orders of protection, was harassed, stalked, physical altercation and threats of harm, while attempting to raise the child on my own and remain sane. He wasn’t on the birth certificate. He would call here and there after his drug life increased and I would simply appease him until the next time he called, never asking about the child.
Father in jail
He was finally incarcerated April of 2007 on several financial felonies. (relief) He sent me a letter after being in for 2 years and no contact. Someone gave him my address. Said we’d be together wholly and completely as he had prayed for 680 days. I responded forgetting who/what I was dealing with, to please just leave us alone. (He thanked me for the scent on the letter; there was no scent.)The child doesn’t know him and he has brought nothing but drama, trauma and upset to our lives.
This started the next 3 and a half years of the destruction of our lives through family courts in Arizona. He filed from his prison cell for all rights and had a “senior pastor (of a home church) licensed professional counselor, expert witness” who had been involved in our lives when the baby was an infant, write a letter on his behalf. It took 2 years for the state to investigate this psychologist/pastor due to my complaint, and he has since lost his psychology license and is of the same caliber of person as the father, only cleaner cut.
His letter caused much damage to our case. The father’s criminal record, mental record, domestic violence against me—all of it was disregarded by the courts as “too old.” Two months prior to his release from prison, he became the “prison chaplain clerk.” He was released 8/09. He appears to have gotten so much backing nobody can believe it. He was filing 3 to 5 (many of them perjured) motions per week from his prison cell starting 4/09 and then came court.
Well-rounded child
I was terrified. This little loving 10 year old had to find out her father was a criminal who was just being released from prison and demanding to be in her life. I knew it was revenge. He called his aunt and said, “We’re going to prove her clinically insane.” It was laughable at first. I never came up for air in the first 2 years and screamed and cried for help begging, as I knew he was going to emotionally abuse this child severely.
She was a “well-rounded, pleasure to have in class” little girl who didn’t know about the evils of these types of people. She helped the handicapped children at school, was an honor roll student and a purple belt heading to her black belt in karate. Our whole world imploded. He appeared to have financial backing of “fathers’ rights attorneys,” “faith based prison reentry program,” “work reentry program making $180,000 per year” (he had never made $40k per year) federal funding?
Reunification
I was ordered to provide any and all medical records of mine to the courts from my whole life, including 8 years taxes, 8 years bank statements, business and personal, ordered to counseling and so was the child, due to her resisting reunification. I was blamed for his telling the child of his prison history, drug history, crimes and a picture he showed her on his phone at their first meeting of his butt! This was told by my daughter to his aunt and not to me, so you’d think they would’ve believed it. He told her I wanted to abort her (a threat from birth out) and she was not aborted because of him and sucked the joy and peace from both of our lives. Plus much more.
At one point I had to defend against emergency psych exam for me and put child at risk of foster care until I could be evaluated. At least my attorney told his attorney that she was bordering on misconduct, although it seemed like the border was gone. This attorney had something to do with the home church.
My daughter became suicidal and self-harming and her grades dropped. She quit karate. She stopped helping kids at school. This nightmare is unbelievable to anyone who hasn’t dealt with this type of monster and the way the family courts facilitate this abuse on to unsuspecting honorable citizens. The reunification therapist “was right with her God” and wrote 8 letters against the child and myself as she bought into the father’s early arrivals so “he could pray” before meeting with his daughter.
Terminate the rights
Ok, so needless to say, I am getting upset telling my story. I want you to tell your readers and mothers whose babies have been the light of their life with a sociopathic father that ANY loophole or opportunity to terminate the spaths right’s should be taken. All the healing they have done is at risk if their guard goes down prior to their children’s 18th birthday. This can happen to them.
We are mere shells of the people we once were. I have basically lost my business and I am trying to save our home. The courts won’t help if spath comes back with a better story years from now. They have rights and God forbid they learn more criminal behavior and get the benefits of being a criminal who has done just enough time to get all the backing of the system.
My daughter finally recorded one of the abusive reunification sessions where they spent an hour arguing and bashing me, and I was sanctioned by the judge, accused of “wiring my child” and being the most reprehensible mother his attorney had ever had contact with in family courts????? I had nothing to do with the recording, but it stopped this particular therapist and I agreed to a sanction so the child would never go back to that therapist again.
Child is traumatized
The new one sees the truth and has told the courts how traumatized the child is from “whatever happened in the prior sessions,” and we are waiting on the judge’s recommendation for the child. The father would still like to see her after he quit the meetings in May when he realized this therapist saw through him. (It disgusts me that I am used to referring to her as “the child,” now since every word you speak is subject to scrutiny in this terroristic court system.)
We have 5 more years it appears, and there is so much more to this story. I am grateful I could come to Lovefraud and at least know others see these cruel creatures for what they are.
Thank you, Donna. I am giving you this info so you can decide if or how you may warn or help the mothers who are fighting to protect their young children. I thought I was safely in the clear and had done everything right and recovered for the most part from the trauma of the beginning with this man. It just didn’t matter. There is very little help for us.
Dear LPMarie,
have a big hug ……you’re doing such a good job. And you’re right……don’t be beating yourself up because things aren’t perfect. When things were hard for me a few years ago my sister said to me….strongawoman!! Why don’t you go outside, find a big stick, put a nail in it and hit yourself over the head. !!!
Be kind to yourself! and your little one is young….the simple things in life will make her happy as Milo says.
Tell you what….I and am sure a whole lotta people here are rooting for you.
Stay strong my dear. I will be thinking of you.
You’re doing great! I promise!
That little dream boat daughter will love anything you hand her with mommys love in it. It could be anything. They just remember the love.
Now I know exactly the beating you’re getting from yourself. Your credit may not take as big of a hit as you think since so many people are foreclosing and short selling. Hopefully it will show as an incident when your overall score is checked. Remember the whole economy is has been stressed (to put it mildly) and you will fit right in. It couldn’t have happened at a better time. (since with the spath it was gonna happen) While some moments that still pisses me off, what I just said is the half full thought. 🙂
Take lots of pictures for memories of you and your daughter. I feel like that is something not to be shorted on. I have stopped in recent years due to feeling sick seeing what I see in my own sad, tired eyes but I took lots for the first 10 years and she looks at them all the time with love and happiness. Now she and all her friends take them of themselves. Boys too! ?
Your eyes are wide open. Good!
Instead of worrying too much about the home cooked meals she’s not getting start looking for quicky easy tips from other single moms online so you still feel like you did things up to your standards. I used to put frozen peas in a baggie and my daughter would eat those. Great when teething too. She’d eat raw green beans too. They are good. She thought baby carrots were cookies (every kid wants cookies rights?) until my niece yelled hey that’s not a cookie! Which ended up funny to this day. Find some laughter. Music and laughter. Good stuff at the worst of times.
Here’s the deal, we aren’t supposed to parent perfectly. I believe we have become successful if we’ve done it better than the parents who raised us. Sounds like that’s what you’re shooting for and I can honestly say even with all the crap, I have done better in many ways if not all than my parents did.
Thank you ladies. I am going to do all of the above.
this is a tragic situation. it reminds me how lucky I am to have had older kids when my ex filed, and I remember telling them that the outcome of our lives would be decided by how strong they were in the face of the trauma that was to come. I knew I could only do so much and even if I survived and gave it my all, they had to be part of the fight. family court tries to fool us by saying we shouldn’t involve them, they should not know what is going in with their parents litigation, but this is just because the court knows how valuable the children are in a fair fight. at this point, I have lost almost everything in protecting them, but my children have survived and have not become self destructive or given up. my children are survivors, continuing to succeed in all aspects of their lives. it is so wrong to put such a load on children, but its the only way. They have to know its a fight for their lives and to dig deep and find the strength to overcome the adversity from the court and their own father. to accept the lack of fairness and carry on because no one else will do it for them. and as all the story shows, there is no help for those imprisoned in the family court process. so just like kids all over the world who are asked to go it alone after destruction of their families and homes, family court has done the same to children here. the children themselves must bear the burden, mature quickly and not be sheltered from the reality that threatens their lives while the propaganda is professing just the opposite.
Help! Can I have spath arrested: he admitted to driving dangerously with 2 of my children in the car. He drove 70 in a 55 swerving around cars and changing lanes without looking. 60 in a 35. Making angry faces at 10yo in back seat so that his face was in the back seat. Stomping on the brake, accelerator, brake, acc., brake at each stop all the way home. All this b/c the 10yo wanted me and not him to work on her sch project. Her report was: he used the car as a weapon against him. The sw opened a case but it all results in them spending more time with him! They say to reduce chances of interactions between me and spath but the insanity! He is getting what he wants Again! Since he admitted the driving, can I report it to police and get an arrest? What would be the charge?
Glory, do you have a WITNESS to the driving like that and the admission? Even the kids? If the kids will testify to it, call the department of child safety (whatever it is called in your state) as well as the police.
Don’t let him know you are doing it until it is done. Good luck, it may help, it may not. No guarentees for sure. ((((hugs))) and God bless.
Barbarab,
wow, you really get it. You have my admiration and respect.
You understand what protection through knowledge is, even for your kids. Remember, stay vigilant. Never stop learning. When you think you know everything you need to know, is when you make mistakes.
I’m glad you posted. You have wisdom and I hope you continue to share it.
GlorytoGod ~ I am so sorry that you and your children are going through this. If he is doing things like this to “punish” your children, there is probably more “inappropriate” parenting techniques on his part. It would not hurt to report it to Children’s Services, but it will be very hard to prove.
We had a private investigator following my p/daughter because we knew, that during her visitation time, she was driving her son around while having a DUI suspension. When we presented the evidence, including pictures to the court Magistrate, he laughed and said everyone with a suspended liscense drives, no big deal.
Keep a journal of everything your children report to you, include date and time. This may help opening a case with DCF. Good luck
barabab,
I agree with Skylar – an excellent post. You are a blessing to your kids, telling them how it really is, keeping them “in-the-know.” I totally approve of your way of handling things (not that you need it). My kids know that I think that their dad is a spath, having lived through craziness galore (over the years). Our lives are becoming more settled because the spath dad is not a constant presence in their lives (they don’t have to see him everyday). Anyways, it sounds like as a parent, you’re tops!.
I wonder how many battered mothers and children are suffering to the extreme because of the corrupt family court system. I’ve done research and find that something similar to a civil rights movement is needed in order to fight back against intolerable injustice in the family court system. We need to be united in order for battered women and children to have their basic human rights to safety, support, and protection respected and enforced. I wrote a book under a pen name about the corruption in the MN family court system and about what my three children and I have lived through. Please pass the word about the book, Spellbreaker, Transcending Violence by Mariah P. Clausen, on amazon.com. For those who are interested in getting your story and your children’s story exposed to the public, you can self-publish at createspace.com. I think we need to flood the market with stories detailing the atrocities we’re suffering because of the evil in the family court system and because the media is keeping it a secret.