Even a Doctor Cannot Protect Her Child

And She's Facing 4 Years in Prison for Her Efforts

Sep 18, 2022

Leila is a respected physician on top of being a wonderful, loving mother. She has had the resources to hire good lawyers to help in her fight to keep and protect her daughter, Angelica.

But Angelica was taken away from her anyway and given to her documented and admitted abuser ex. And Leila is facing 4 years in prison on a bogus abduction charge.

If this can happen to Leila, it can happen to any mother.

[If you’d like to help get the charge dismissed, see the ACTIVISM section below.]

50/50 OF COURSE

Leila divorced her husband due to his physical and emotional abuse of her and her daughter. Of course, the judge dismissed the reports of abuse and ordered 50/50 custody.

Her daughter, Angelica, continued to disclose her father’s abuse to CPS, a doctor, therapist, teacher, principal, minor’s counsel, evaluator, and others but Judge Matthew Braner did nothing to protect her.

Judge Matthew Braner eventually appointed a custody evaluator, one who is well-known for steering cases to the father. The evaluation was dragged out for 18 months and cost $90,000.

Predictably, the evaluator lied in his report, saying Leila was mentally ill and the father was fine. He did not include in his report the abuse by the father Angelica told him about. He recommended custody to the father.

Leila proved the evaluator was lying by subpoenaing his records. His report is not legally allowed to be used as evidence until after Leila can cross-examine him. The judge precluded the evaluator from being cross-examined at trial, and his report has continued to be used illegally as evidence against her to this very day.

SUFFOCATING & HOG-TYING

Then Angelica disclosed particularly serious, serial incidents of abuse that involved suffocating and “hog-tying” her. By this time she was 9 years-old and could clearly describe the abuse. She said her father would grab her around the ribs and squeeze her to the point where she could not breathe. He later admits to this.

Angelica said he would also grab her hands and feet together in a sort of “hog-tying” to render her helpless. These behaviors were apparently being done in an attempt to control, punish and terrorize her.

Per PC 273 it’s a felony to cause suffocation, whether of a minor or serious nature, by physical force.

This serious, life-threatening abuse was reported to a temporary judge who gave Leila sole custody and placed the father on supervised visitation. Amazing, right? Finally, a judge listened, a child was protected. For a week.

Less than two weeks later Judge Marcella McLaughlin threw out that judge’s order and gave Angelica back to her father. The father then filed for a Protective Order against Leila claiming she had assaulted him and was coaching and alienating their daughter.

With zero evidence to support his accusations, Judge McLaughlin gave the father temporary sole custody and placed Leila on supervised visits. And the frosting on the father cake: Leila was ordered to pay her abusive ex child support.

At the trial to make the RO against Leila permanent, the father admitted to abusing Angelica on cross-examination:

Q: Approximately, how many times do you recall Angelica telling you that you were hurting her ribs?
A: It’s hard to quantify how many…
Q: And has Angelica ever told you that she could not breathe when you pick her up?
A: Yes.”

Even with the father admitting to the abuse, the RO against Leila was made permanent.

The father had violated McLaughlin’s order by not bringing Angelica for supervised visits with for nearly six months. Later the visits required not only a supervisor, but a therapist and minor’s counsel to be present, which amounted to $1300/visit. Of course, that could not be sustained by any mother—it is just a way to keep Angelica away from her.

Judge McLaughlin did not view the father keeping Leila from having visits as maliciously depriving her of her child. But she did find Leila to be maliciously depriving the father of custody when, later in the case, Angelica adamantly refused to return to her father’s house after a visit.

The Police came to facilitate the exchange, but decided Angelica did not and should not have to go because she was so upset and refusing to go. CPS also bowed out, saying they would not make her go.

Angelica was crying and screaming not to go with her father and clinging to me with her arms and legs wrapped around me.

COLLUSION WITH D.A.

Since the police did not force Angelica to go, the D.A.’s Child Abduction unit [CAU] was called. They said they were busy with serious kidnapping cases and it would be months before they would take on a violation of visitation order case.

Judge McLaughlin heard about the CAU refusing to get involved and apparently intervened. The next day a protective warrant was issued by the CAU, which enabled them to pick up Angelica and take her to her father’s. But nobody came to get her and Leila was never told about the warrant.

Instead, there were better plans for Leila. They wanted to punish, terrorize, and further disempower her, so they charged her with a serious felony.

Leila was charged with abduction requiring a $1 million bond.

Before she could be arrested, her attorney attorney filed a motion contesting this ridiculously excessive bail, and got her off on her own recognizance.

The million dollar bail for a medical doctor, who is accused of PC 278, for child abduction as a result of what the District Attorney’s office perceives as her “disobeying a court order” when she is protecting her daughter and providing her a safe place pursuant to the DVPA (Domestic Violence Protection Act), is clearly excessive.

Any other mother, without resources, would be sitting in prison awaiting trial (as happened with Elizabeth’s case).

APPELLATE WINS

Leila filed two appeals and won them both. Judge McLaughlin recused after the last appellate defeat, stating it was “in the interests of justice”.

Although the appellate wins validated Leila’s position, they did nothing to protect Angelica or return custody to her. This is a common occurrence. The only real oversight for Family Court judges is the Appellate Court; but even when mothers win, they cannot get their children back or protect them. There is no effective oversight of Family Court judges—by design.

Yet another judge, Judge Victor Pippins, has continued on the same abuse-concealing, father-empowering path, keeping Leila and Angelica away from each other.

And, of course, a therapist has been appointed who is attempting to break Angelica’s will to live with her mother and brainwash her into thinking her mother is the abuser. This use of coercive persuasion on children is described in depth in our “How Judges Weaponize Mind Control” column.

I think it is so wrong that I have a medical license and can take care of any adult or child; but per Family Court orders, I’m not fit to care for my own daughter, who they know loves me and is desperate to be with me.
Leila

[Leila is contemplating suing minor’s counsel and the evaluator since their documented lies about her and her ex (perjury) may get around the qualified immunity they have. If anyone knows whether this is possible, please comment.]

ACTIVISM

Leila’s case is in the same D.A.’s office as Elizabeth’s case. After the Coalition’s campaign to D.A. Summer Stephan in June, the five felony charges against her were dismissed. We are hoping D.A. Stephan will dismiss the abduction charge against Leila and stop prosecuting mothers who are protecting their children.

CONTACT D.A. STEPHAN

PHONE: 619-531-3315 [you can leave voicemail even though it says to email]

EMAIL: summer@summerstephan.com [subject: Leila]

Write your own or use this example:

D.A. Stephan,

I am with The Women’s Coalition and we are requesting that you dismiss the abduction charge against Leila. Her daughter simply refused to go to her abusive father’s house. This is yet another example of how Family Court uses the D.A.’s office to punish, terrorize, and disempower mothers.

Please dismiss the charge against Leila or we will be staging a protest to expose this abuse and oppression of women by your office. Thank you.

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