dimanche 2 septembre 2018

Custody and Visitation Issues: Ex Returned Child with Bruises - Child Says Bruises Are from That Parent

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: MO

Ex recently had the kids for approximately 10 consecutive days due to utilizing vacation time and overriding my custodial weekend. Ex has never had the kids this long, and apparently it didn't go so well.

One of our kids returned to my residence this weekend with upper arm bruises that looked like fingertips. I asked if the child bumped into something and pointed to the bruises. The child stated these bruises came from the other parent. Allegedly the other parent grabbed our child roughly by the arm when the child refused to share a toy with a sibling.

The sibling - who was outside during this discussion - told the same story later, stating that the other parent intentionally hurt the younger sibling. Older sibling says the younger child was screaming in pain and that the parent was grabbing the arm in a pinching manner (hard to describe, but the child demonstrated what happened).

I discreetly photographed the bruises while the child was resting, but they are pretty faded and starting to yellow. I have no clue when this incident happened since the kids were with my ex for so many days, and I'm guessing the marks will be gone before I can get a hold of their pediatrician or counselor.

I've been warned that parents should never call CPS on the other parent during a custody battle, so I have no plans to do that. Plus I'm worried CPS won't think this is a big enough issue and then ex will treat the kids worse. Ex has been hotlined numerous times (not by me, and not just regarding the kids we have together) and always seems to get off with no charges. We (the kids and I) used to have a restraining order against the ex, and ex had to have supervised visits for a while (a judge ordered this).

That was years ago, though, so what do I do now? How do I protect the kids?

Should I just mention this to their counselor (mandated reporter) so she can hotline it if she thinks it's serious enough? Is there something I can file? I'm not sure if this is enough for another restraining order or an emergency custody hearing. I think it's very serious, but I don't know if a judge will since there are parents who are much more abusive than this. However, this ex has a documented history of issues (hence the restraining order in the past), so I'm concerned this situation will quickly escalate.


Custody and Visitation Issues: Ex Returned Child with Bruises - Child Says Bruises Are from That Parent

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