Your tax dollars at work, folks. Notice that Mom lost custody to CPS because of dad JOSHUA WEST and his "violent behavior"--not because of anything the mom apparently did. And yet BOTH PARENTS are on supervised visitation! Despite the fact that Daddy was on probation for assault and battery against the mother!
So let me get this straight:
We coddle Daddy by putting him on probation for a violent crime against the mother, and thereby put the mother at additional risk.
We then punish Mom by taking her kids away from her.
We then reward Daddy by granting him supervised visitation despite his criminal record.
We then punish Mom some more by giving her supervised visitation as if she were a criminal just like the father, and not the victim of a violent crime.
We then subject Mom to additional trauma and humiliation by requiring her to endure supervised visitation with the man who assaulted her, who (naturally) uses the occasion to threaten her with additional violence.
Is the father-friendly, abuser-friendly agenda clear yet? Shame on the Haverhill justice system. And shame on the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.
Next time you hear the fathers rights groups in Massachusetts moan and groan about how oppressed they are, remember this case and what REALLY goes down in the Commonwealth.
http://www.eagletribune.com/haverhill/x890679866/Dad-who-allegedly-threatened-mom-with-beatdown-is-held
August 26, 2011
Dad who allegedly threatened mom with 'beatdown' is held By Paul Tennant
The Eagle Tribune Fri Aug 26, 2011, 12:11 AM EDT
HAVERHILL — A man who allegedly threatened to give the mother of his two children a "beatdown" if she had anything to do with other men is being held pending a probation hearing Sept. 21.
Joshua West, 20, of 25 Bateman St., pleaded not guilty to a charge of threatening to commit a crime, assault and battery, in Haverhill District Court on Monday. Patrolman Bradley Andrews arrested West after he made the threat to the woman during a July 24 supervised meeting with their 1-year-old child at the state Department of Children and Families, according to a police report.
The child is in DCF custody because of West's violent behavior, according to Andrews' report. The woman is pregnant with another child and West is the father, police said.
West is already on probation after being convicted of assault and battery on the mother of his children. He struck the woman in the face three times last year, according to a police report.
Judge Patricia Dowling imposed $500 cash bail on West on his latest charge, but determined there was probable cause that he had violated his probation on the 2010 offense and ordered him held until Sept. 21.
At that time, West will face a final hearing on whether he violated his probation on the assault and battery conviction, as well as a pretrial conference on the alleged threat he made to the mother of his children.