My wife left me for another man (which I did not find out about until after our separation agreement had been signed); she moved in with this guy, he’s got a criminal record that includes assault and a few other offenses, he threatened to kill me on my property in front of my daughter, and has admitted to me that he would “spank” my daughter if he felt the need to do so when she was in my wife’s care even though I have explicitly said that he can’t do so (I have all of this on recording). In the same recording he also said that he hasn’t been hitting her up until this point though… My daughter is 3 years old getting ready to turn 4 and has told me that he has hit her in the face before.
I spoke with an attorney and they advised me to try and get a domestic violence protective order against him on myself and on my little girl.
Would this even be possible? and how hard is it to obtain?
While you are obtaining a DV order, PLEASE also consider asking the judge for a guardian et litem for your daughter. They are not social services, but work directly for the courts and your child… no one should ever hit a child in the face.
Your recording is legal, since YOU are aware you recorded yourself… have you thought to go to a magistrate at the court house and press charges? It’s something to consider…
I’m not a lawyer, so I cannot give you legal advice. I am, however, a single father with shared custody with my ex-wife. If I was in your shoes, I would push very hard to ensure that this d-bag doesn’t negatively impact my child. If I heard that another man hit my child in the face, I’d spend every last dime of my money pursuing the removal of the other man from my son’s life. Do you have him saying that he hit her in the face in your recording? It’s tough to tell from your post.
The ease with which a person can obtain a domestic violence protective order varies from county to county, but you need to review the statutes (chapter 50B) and make sure you allege sufficient facts to warrant the entry of the order.
If you choose to proceed, we have lots of beneficial information on our site including DVPO forms and instructions for the DVPO forms.