Stemom Kills Her Kids? Yup, you still have to see her.

In yet another brilliant move by the family courts, children are being sent to live with a father who is married to a woman who killed her own 4 and 8 year old daughters. That's right, it's okay to kill your children because you can just marry a man who has his own children. These kids are teenagers, and yet not one word about how they feel in this tragedy. No thoughts on what it will be like being disciplined by a woman psycho enough to extrerminate her family.
 I'm sorry kids, we have failed you. Please stay safe. Keep a phone with you at all times. If you are ever scared, call 911, from a land line hang up and don't pick it up when they call back, this way they have to respond. Know that school officials and hospital workers are mandated reporters. If you so much as get scary feeling with that woman, get out and get help.

Mom Loses Custody Battle with Ex, Who Is Married to a Child Killer

Posted Aug 1, 2011 9:14 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

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An Oregon woman is appealing a child custody decision that allows a child killer to help raise her two sons.

Trisha Conlon of Silverton, Ore., fought to keep the boys out of her ex-husband’s home after a private investigator confirmed he was living with Kristine Cushing on Vashon Island near Seattle, the Associated Press reports.

Kristine Cushing was married twice to John Cushing Jr., both before and after he married Trisha Conlon. During Kristine and John’s first marriage, she killed their two daughters, ages 4 and 8, and blamed her actions on temporary insanity caused by Prozac, the story says. She was hospitalized nearly four years in a mental institution and underwent nearly a decade of psychiatric monitoring before receiving an unconditional release in 2005, when she remarried John Cushing.
A parenting plan gives Conlon custody of her 14-year-old son during the school year, while John Cushing has custody of their 13-year-old boy during that time, the AP story says. The teens split holidays and vacations between the two parents.
Conlon learned in 2007 that her one-time husband was living with Kristine, but he said they were getting divorced and she was no longer living there. Conlon's suspicions that John and Kristine had reconciled were confirmed when she hired a private investigator early this year.
Conlon then sought a permanent modification of the parenting plan with John Cushing, but Commissioner Leonid Ponomarchuk of King County, Wash., refused the change, the story says. Ponomarchuk reasoned that the boys had been spending time with Kristine Cushing since 2008, although Conlon wasn’t aware of it, and there had been no problems.

Can I Get Thrown in Jail for Refusing Visitation? Yes you Can.

Teenager incarcerated for refusing to visit his father

Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009

 

By Jameson Cook, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Click to enlarge

Macomb Daily photo by David Dalton Dawn Platevoet and her son, Jacob Mastrogiovanni, leave the Macomb County Juvenile Justice Center in Mount Clemens on Friday.

A 14-year-old boy was thrown into the county youth home overnight and handcuffed for about four hours after refusing to follow a judge's order to visit his father, as part of an ongoing custody case.

The boy, Jacob Mastrogiovanni of Warren, was ordered Thursday to spend three days in the youth home by family court Judge John Foster, who lifted the sentenced Friday following protests by his mother and a night of incarceration for her son.

The uncommon occurrence of a contempt of

court sentence for a child in a child custody dispute angered his mother, Dawn Platevoet, and several of her relatives, including the boy's grandmother. They picketed in front of the county courthouse in downtown Mount Clemens on Thursday and Friday, garnering media attention.

"A judge shouldn't throw an all-A student in jail for refusing to visit his father," Platevoet said. "There are other ways to handle the situation, and apparently the judge agreed because he let him out."

Jacob was slated to remain in the Juvenile Justice Center until 7 p.m. Sunday but was released by Foster about 12:30 p.m. Friday. Foster had Jacob brought from the youth home in handcuffs about 8:30 a.m. Friday to appear in front of him in Macomb County Circuit Court later that morning. Jacob waited in a holding cell.

Moments after he was released Friday, Jacob said Foster didn't specify why he freed him.

"He said that I don't decide whether I see my dad or not," Jacob said. "It was kind of like a warning, this time, I guess."

Foster's secretary said the judge did not want to comment.

Jacob and Platevoet wouldn't delve into many details of why he won't visit his father, Victor Mastrogiovanni of Chesterfield Township. She said Jacob began resisting in July following an unspecified incident.

They said when Jacob has visited Mastrogiovanni recently that he is forced to stay in his room without any contact.

On Foster's order, the three have been attending weekly counseling sessions since early September. But they and the therapist have been unable to resolve the disagreement.

Platevoet and Mastrogiovanni never married and have had some disputes for years regarding custody and support issues, they said.

Mastrogiovanni, who has been married for two years and has a 15-month-old child, said he did not want to comment specifically about the dispute.

"I love my kid very much and want what's best for him," he said.

Platevoet said she would like her son to visit his dad but can't force him.

"What am I supposed to do? Grab him by the back of the head and put him in the car?" she said. "He's a teenager and wants to do teenager things."

She said Jacob "listens to me" about other things but not about the visits.

Platevoet's attorney, James Simasko, said he sympathizes with his client but didn't advise her to contact the media.

"The media is not the proper place for the parties to air their differences," he said.

Platevoet defended her public protest, saying she didn't want to air grievances but simply wanted her son released.

"The only reason I went to the media was to get him out of jail for what the judge did," she said. "He's my kid. I'm going to say something about it."

She said the county Friend of the Court also recommended the judge put him in jail.

"The Friend of the Court and judge are not looking out for the best interest of the child," Platevoet said. "They put him in jail with criminals."

FOC Director Lynn Davidson said she could not comment on the case. She said a child's wishes is one of 13 "best interests of the child" factors a judge considers in making custody decisions. Simasko said judges typically accept more input from a child as he or she grows older and matures.

Youth home Director Chuck Siedelman said his facility has handled minors for contempt of court in the past, but said he and his staff don't review the details.

"It's not our responsibility to know what took place; we hold them and house them," he said.

In the juvenile center off Dunham Road near Rose on the outskirts of Mount Clemens, Jacob was kept alone in a cell and slept on a mat, he said.

He had no complaints other than the handcuffs.

"They hurt," he said, showing lumps on his wrists from the metal tightened around them.

"The people were nice, but it's a bad place," he said.

His mother said Jacob, a ninth-grader at East Detroit High School, "is a good kid" who is on the honor roll and was voted "class leader" and scored No. 1 on a recent grade-wide exam. He plays baseball, wrestles and participates in other school activities.

His dad has coached him in baseball for several years.

Jacob said despite disliking his stay in the youth home, he vowed he will not comply with the visitation order.

"As terrible as a place as that is, I'd rather be there than" visit his father, he said.

The judge set a hearing on the matter for Monday morning.


In case you were wondering if you can be sent to jail for refusing to see your non-custodial parent, the answer is yes. A judge can do what he wants with you when you are involved in family court until you turn 18 years old.. He or she can make your life a living hell, and it is important to understand this going into a custody fight. You have the right to fight back, but there will be consequences.
In this case this kid had a decent relationship with his father early in his childhood as his dad coached him in baseball. But at some point this kid decided, "I'm done with this visitation bullshit" and then his great dad turned into a dick. This kid had gone over there and spent the entirety of the visit in his room. He didn't like it, he didn't want to go any more. But did his dad listen, NO. Did his dad care, NO. And now the relationship has been damaged to such a degree, that it will never be repaired.
The question becomes, what is this kid supposed to do. Should he get in a physical altercation with his father? Should he destroy the property at his father's house? Should he act violently? By giving this kid a record and time in jail, hasn't the judge forced this child to fight back in a way that is ultimately more damaging and more dangerous for all involved.
I'm curious as to what happened to this kid. If anyone knows please let me know, and as always, your own stories are important to me. So send them in.

More Insanity By The Courts

Mother chooses jail over visitation

Updated: Saturday, 02 Apr 2011, 2:21 PM EDT
Published : Saturday, 02 Apr 2011, 2:21 PM EDT

• BY KATHRYN BASSETT kathrynb@kpcnews.net

AUBURN, Ind. (WANE) - The following has been provided by the News Sun :
 
An Angola mother is spending this weekend in the DeKalb County Jail for refusing to comply with a court order to take her 8-year-old daughter to see the girl’s father in prison.

Last month, DeKalb Circuit Judge Kirk Carpenter found Jenny Collins-Thompson in contempt of a parenting-time order that grants the child’s father, Pedro Moreno, visiting time with the child once a year for up to two hours at the Indiana Department of Correction.
Moreno was sentenced to 20 years in prison for robbery by a Steuben County court in 2004 and is serving his time at Westville Correctional Facility, Thompson said.
Thompson said a decree of paternity that adjudged Moreno to be the girl’s natural biological father was issued in June 2006.
“Welfare wanted me to name the father to go after her birthing expenses,” Thompson explained. “I ended up having to name him.”
Thompson said up until that point, Moreno had made no contact with her, despite knowing she had given birth to the child.
Thompson said she had not wanted Moreno to be a part of her daughter’s life, because of his criminal history and the choices he had made.
“I knew he had gone to prison. I knew what he did. I thought, as her mother, it would be better to just not have him involved,” Thompson said. “Almost right after he accepted paternity, he filed for visitation and parental rights.”
Those rights were granted in June 2007, and when Thompson failed to take her daughter to visit Moreno in prison, Moreno asked the court to hold her in contempt.
Cases and court hearings involving paternity and parental matters are not open to the public. However, Thompson chose to share copies of her court documents with this newspaper.
According to a motion filed by Moreno from Westville on Oct. 10, 2008, DeKalb County Judge (pro tem) Thompson Smith issued a court order June 29, 2007, granting Moreno visiting parenting time with the child once a year for up to two hours at the Indiana Department of Correction.
Moreno said the order instructed Thompson to take her child to the Department of Correction. It said Moreno would be responsible for arranging the visit and notifying Thompson of the arrangements.
Moreno’s motion said the order stated that visitation should take place between June 1 and Aug. 15, and that Thompson should encourage the child to send letters, drawings and pictures to Moreno. The order also allowed Moreno to send letters, cards and appropriate gifts to the girl, Moreno said.
In his motion, Moreno said Thompson had not tried to bring her daughter to visit him, even though Moreno had notified Thompson when she could visit. Moreno said Thompson also had not encouraged the child to send letters or drawings.
Thompson said transporting her daughter to Westville posed a problem financially, because she worked part-time and earned minimum wage.
“Ms. Jenny Thompson has recklessly disregarded the court order for two years now,” Moreno wrote. “If the courts (sic) does not act, then she will keep on disregarding the court order. Mr Moreno will remind the courts how important this court order is, how much he loves his daughter and how much she means to him.”
At a hearing in December 2008, Thompson was found to be in contempt of the order, but was told the charges would be relieved if she took her daughter to see Moreno, she said.
Moreno sent another letter to the court in February 2009, saying about his daughter, “I would like to get to know her before it’s too late. I don’t want her to make the same mistakes I made. I’d like to be a part of her life.”
Still, Thompson said, she did not take her daughter to see Moreno.
On Feb. 11, 2010, the court entered an order of contempt enforcement and required Thompson to report to the DeKalb County Jail by Feb. 22, 2010, to begin serving a 180-day sentence.
Thompson hired Sara Seibert of Angola as her attorney. Seibert asked the court to stay the order requiring Thompson to report to jail, allowing time to review the case record.
Carpenter denied the request and, to avoid going to jail, Thompson said she had planned to take her daughter to Westville to visit Moreno. However, those plans were sidelined when it was discovered that Moreno was not registered to have visitors.
Seibert again filed a motion asking the court to withhold its Feb. 11, 2010 ruling. That motion was granted. But since that time, Moreno has registered to receive visitors, Thompson said.
Thompson said her attorney then filed a motion to transfer the case to Steuben County. At the time, she lived in Fremont and did not have reliable transportation to court hearings in DeKalb County, she said.
Carpenter denied the motion May 6, 2010, saying “… the court finds that to have the cause remain in this court is not a manifest inconvenience to the parties.”
In October, Thompson filed petitions to vacate the contempt order and deny Moreno’s parenting time. But Thompson said attorney fees became too costly

for her, and Seibert withdrew from the case Jan. 20.
Thompson appeared without legal counsel at a March 9 hearing on her petition to vacate the contempt order and deny parenting time. In a ruling filed March 11, Carpenter said Thompson had not presented evidence to show that Moreno should not have the right to parenting time.
Carpenter also found that Thompson had not presented evidence to justify her intentional disregard of the court’s prior parenting-time orders.
“In order to enforce the prior parenting-time orders of this court, the court orders that the mother serve an executed jail sentence in incarceration of four days,” Carpenter ruled. With credit for good behavior, Thompson can serve the sentence in two days. She was scheduled to report to jail at 3 p.m. Friday.
Carpenter said Thompson also must follow the parenting-time order issued in June 2007 and that this year’s visit with Moreno must take place before June 1, with annual visits before June 1 of each subsequent year.
“If such visits do not occur, the court shall consider further enforcement orders,” Carpenter ruled.
Thompson said she is anxious and afraid about spending time in jail, but added, “If this is what I have to do to protect my daughter, then this is what I’m going to do.”
Thompson said she has allowed her daughter to send and receive letters and pictures to and from her father, but is opposed to her daughter visiting Moreno while he is in prison.
“Why can’t he just wait, come out (of prison) and stay out of jail?” Thompson said of Moreno. “Why do I want my daughter to bond with a man, if he can’t prove he can stay out of prison?
“If he can do all this stuff, then I have no problem with her bonding with him, but I want him to bond with her somewhere she feels comfortable, but not somewhere that is being forced upon her. I can understand parents who were there with their child having rights to see their child. But this is a man who wanted absolutely nothing to do with her and had made no contact with me until she was 4 years old.”
After serving her weekend in jail, Thompson said, she plans to appeal the denial of the motion to transfer her case. She also hopes to find assistance from legal aid or other outlets in seeking to vacate the visitation order and to take away Moreno’s parental rights.

 

 

Just so that we are all clear about how the idiots in family court think. This is a mother who has taken care of this child by herself for the past 8 years. Because this child shares some DNA with this man, the childs life and that of her mother has to be uprooted in some insane belief that there is a parent child bond that can be established. Again, never forget that the people in family court ( judges, evaluators, attorneys, GALs) are not thinking normally. Never trust them. Never believe them. Because they think that this is the right thing. 

The Evidence For Your Custody Decision

As you may have already realized, there is no scientific evidence that the custody decision that has been reached in your case is an appropriate one. Although you will often times hear or read that custody is determined "to be in the best interest of the child", what is in your best interest varies wildly from state to state and courtroom to courtroom. Judges are only people, they come with their own inherent biases and blindspots. Most judges believe that it is in your best interest to have an ongoing relationship with both of your parents, and in most cases they are correct. Studies show that children thrive under the love and caring of two responsible parents, whether those parents reside in the same house or not. The problem is that becomming a parent does not make some one automatically loving, caring or responsible. In cases in which a parent is not capable to form an a good parent child bond, either as the result of alcohol, drugs, or a controlling personality, there are no standard guidlines for custody.

This is particularly problematic in domestic violence cases, as the abuser ( overwhelmingly the father), utilizes the court system to continue to exert control over the mother and the children. For children caught in this tornado of lies and vindictiveness, there is often no calm until they reach the age that they can make their own decisions regarding custody. Until then they are marginalized by the court system and left vunerable by a mother who can not protect them. And the father's know it:

"Abusers understand that the best way to hurt mothers is to hurt their children. This is why so many abusive fathers who had little involvement with the children during the relationship suddenly seek custody when the mother seeks to leave her abuser. Court professionals often miss recognizing the fathers’ motivation because they have repeatedly heard that contested custody are high conflict cases when most are actually domestic violence cases. The worst part of this work is hearing about the unspeakable pain suffered by mothers and children when courts send children to live with dangerous abusers and take safe, protective mothers out of their children’s lives. It is extremely frustrating because these mistakes cause so much harm, but could be prevented if the courts would apply current scientific research.

If there was a scientific basis for these decisions, an evaluator could tell the court how his recommendations have worked out for the children in earlier cases. There is no such research and the closest we have are the Courageous Kids. These are young adults who have aged out of custody orders forcing them to live with abusive fathers and denying them a normal relationship with their mothers. These kids have a moral authority that none of the rest of us has because the decisions were supposed to be made for their benefit. The decisions gave control to the fathers who had tremendous power and resources to silence the children. This means the many Courageous Kids who have spoken out, often in great pain in order to help other children from suffering the same fate, represent a small percentage of spectacularly mistaken decisions. They describe tremendous pain and suffering during childhood and many problems that last into their adult lives. In many ways they are the lucky ones because other children in this situation commit suicide, destroy their lives with drugs and other harmful behaviors or otherwise never reach their potential."

The excerpt above speaks volumes to the need for children, like you, to speak out in whatever fashion possible to explain how these decisions have affected you. Currently there are small beams of light shinning through the darkness on YouTube, Saving Damon, and Courageous Kids Network, giving children caught in custody a voice. However, if there is any hope of the court system listening to you, the children, you first have to speak up and fight for yourself. There is no evidence of your pain, until you first give it a voice. Please feel free to send FUCCED any stories, information, drawings, or emails regarding how you feel about your custody situation.

What Do I Need to Have for Fighting Visitation?

First off, fighting visitation can be a long war so be prepared. However, like the old proverb states: You can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. Your custody order can state whatever it wants, it is your decision whether you plan to follow it or not. So what do you need to fight visitation.
1. You need Nerves of Steel
This is going to be a lengthy process. Your going to piss off both of your parents. Everyone will be mad at you and you may get in trouble. Take a deep breath.  Accept that this will happen. Sometimes you just have to be an asshole. Embrace your role.
2. You Need a Safe Place to Keep Things
Your best friend will be very useful in this regard. See if you can keep private stuff at their house. If your school keeps track of whose lockers belong to which students, see if you can convince them to switch lockers with you. I say this because your parents can request to search your locker at anytime, and they can confiscate any of your things. But if no one knows which locker is truly yours, then you can use it to store important things. This is especially useful if you get picked up from school by your non-custodial parent.
3. You need Some Money.
No you should not be carrying cash with you. But if you can convince your family members to support you, see if they will give you a prepaid VISA card for around 200 bucks. They can pick it up at the grocery store, so it can never be traced back to them. A card is very easy to under the lining of your shoe when your stuck at visitation, and most Nazi non-custodial parents ( NCP) won't look there.
4. You need an Untraceable cell phone
Now you need to keep your old phone, and your NCP should see you use your regular phone. If you don't, they will get suspicious. This phone needs to be used in case of Emergency. Some NCP's will take your regular cell phone upon arrival to their house, but they won't find your hidden one. But you should never be without access to a phone, especially with a parent who drinks or is violent.
If you have the things here, you have already gotten yourself prepared to fight for yourself. Don't be a victim to the court system, or to your parents. You can be miserable and wait to cut off your parent until your 18 or you can do it now. Don't except the bullshit they are feeding you, get prepared to fight back.

How to Fight Getting on a Plane

Long distance visitation is a pain in the ass. For everyone, least of all you. You have been ordered by a judge to leave behind your friend's, pets, hobbies, bedroom and life for 2-3 months just to make someone else happy. You may have gone along with it for years but by about 12 years old you can begin to fight back against this yearly hassle. And it's easy. Don't get on the plane.
First off, inform your non-custodial parent that you do not plan on attending visitation this summer. Do it via email or facebook or text if at all possible. Be calm and clear. Realize that the other parent is probably going to choose two different responses. Negotiation or Terrorism.
1. Negotiation
Your parent will probably say something along the lines of " I'll let you go home early".  Warning, it's trap. Haven't you ever seen a Lifetime Movie? As soon as they get you where they want you then they will never willingly drive you back to the airport. Once they've got you, you're stuck.
2. Terrorism
Expect to hear " I'm the ADULT and you will do as I say!" Oh Really. That's what they think. don't start a fight. Never agree to terrorist demands.
Either answer is unacceptable. You have made your decision. Hopefully you have articulated it in a clear rational manner and now you need to enforce that decision. By not getting on the plane.

There is no need to create a huge scene at the airport. However, the airport is where you want the battle to occur. This fight is not with the custodial parent, so don't make it one.  Get in the car, pack your luggage, and go to the Gate. If your non custodial parent is a Terrorist, then he will likely try to throw your other parent in jail. It happens when your judge is trying to be a hardass.. And guess where the courts will try to send you after that.

When you arrive at the gate the next step is to ask to speak to one of the flight attendants. Tell them that you are required to spend time with your non custodial parent and you re choosing not to get on the plane. Expect some resistance.  Be clear that you do not wish to cause a scene on the plane, but that you will if necessary. Do not threaten anyone. In ten years from now you don't want to end up on a "No Fly" List.

Expect the airport police to come. Again state your plan to not fly. Ask to leave with your other parent. Your other parent is probably in full on freak out mode. She expected you to leave. She is worried aout getting in trouble. But the truth is, once the flight crew says you can't fly, there is nothing they can do about it either. Don't be the bad guy, call your non-custodial parent and explain that you are at the airport and that you will not be flying today or any other day. You and the other parent may end up milling about for a while, but I guarantee you airport security will send you back home.

Congratulations you have made your stand. You will be in trouble. But you will be in trouble at your own damn house.