{"id":69,"date":"2021-02-03T23:51:37","date_gmt":"2021-02-03T23:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.253\/wordpress\/?page_id=69"},"modified":"2021-10-10T15:58:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-10T15:58:23","slug":"chapter-4-protection-from-what","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/?page_id=69","title":{"rendered":"Chapter AD:  Protection from What?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n<p>I have included Rita&#8217;s application in the image gallery below and will address the accusations in the following paragraphs. In addition, I have included two other applications for reference. The first is the eight-page application Rita&#8217;s attorney, Tonia Torquato, had filed against her estranged husband. The second is the application of the estranged wife of Tonia&#8217;s boyfriend, who is mentioned frequently in Tonia&#8217;s application. This application is also much more extensive and detailed than Rita&#8217;s.<\/p>\r\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-1949 .fg-image { width: 640px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-center fg-image-viewer fg-ready fg-dark fg-border-thin fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-hover fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-1949\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;src&quot;,&quot;srcset&quot;:&quot;srcset&quot;,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true,&quot;autoplay&quot;:0}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MockensturmPFAChecklist.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1946\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/MockensturmPFAChecklist\/1986792672.jpg\" title=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Rita's Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Rita's Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/MockensturmPFAApplication-scaled.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1948\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/MockensturmPFAApplication-scaled\/2640174611.jpg\" title=\"Rita&#039;s Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Rita's Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Rita's Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/TorquatoPFAChecklist-scaled.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1947\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/TorquatoPFAChecklist-scaled\/1891886640.jpg\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-1.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1951\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-1\/3468199003.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-2.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1952\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-2\/2054971196.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-3.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1953\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-3\/373287393.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-4.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1954\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-4\/3364155315.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-5.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1955\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-5\/2764527982.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-6.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1956\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-6\/268665353.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Squato-7.png\" data-caption-title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Torquato PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1957\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Squato-7\/2084582612.png\" title=\"Torquato PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Torquato PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/More-PFA-Petition-Checklist.png\" data-caption-title=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1950\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/More-PFA-Petition-Checklist\/284221892.png\" title=\"Moore PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Moore-1.png\" data-caption-title=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1958\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Moore-1\/2613380320.png\" title=\"Moore PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Moore-2.png\" data-caption-title=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-caption-desc=\"Moore PFA Application\" data-attachment-id=\"1959\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/09\/Moore-2\/4129175779.png\" title=\"Moore PFA Application\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><div class=\"fg-caption-desc\">Moore PFA Application<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-prev\" title=\"Prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">13<\/span><\/label>\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-next\" title=\"Next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\r\n<p>In applying for the Protection from Abuse order (PFA), Rita made many false allegations on the form the Women&#8217;s Resources Center gave her to establish that I had been abusive.\u00a0 She claimed I slapped her, but she later testified this was me smacking her hip as she slept to wake her, as discussed previously.\u00a0 She also claimed that I had been making unwanted sexual advances &#8220;almost daily&#8221;; she had told me she might reconsider the divorce if I was more affectionate with her. If I did anything &#8220;unwanted&#8221; during this time, she certainly didn&#8217;t say anything to me about it. She said I would use verbal abuse if she rebuffed my advances. This allegation is certainly not true, as the kids were always around, and I would never verbally &#8220;abuse&#8221; their mother in front of them. I can&#8217;t think of <em>any<\/em> time that I verbally abused anybody in my family.\u00a0 I think I&#8217;ve only been verbally abusive to anyone a few times in my life and never towards a family member. I certainly have never been upset about having sexual advances rejected, which rarely happened with Rita&#8211;it was me denying her most of the time. \u00a0To this day, I have no idea how she could describe anything I did as &#8220;verbally abusive.&#8221; I certainly wasn&#8217;t yelling and screaming at her, and I can&#8217;t remember ever calling her a derogatory name.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t recall ever being angry when we lived together after she filed for divorce.<\/p>\r\n<p>She also said I would make threatening or harassing phone calls when she was away.\u00a0 I undoubtedly do not recall making any threatening or harassing phone calls to her while she was away, or ever.\u00a0 Although I suppose some of the telephone calls with her that summer after she&#8217;d taken the kids to Michigan without me were not particularly pleasant, especially after she kept telling me she was coming back to Pennsylvania and failing to do so.\u00a0 I likely threatened to get law enforcement and the courts involved, as I had researched my parental rights.<\/p>\r\n<p>She also claimed I threatened to injure myself, which I most certainly did not do.\u00a0 I have certainly thought about it, and\u00a0 I will talk later about why I considered hurting myself but not killing myself&#8211;I hate that medical doctors and psychologists assume they are the same.\u00a0 I think the PFA application refers to an anxiety attack I had a few months after she filed for divorce and while we were still living in the same house.\u00a0 The anxiety stemmed from the realization that I would likely live alone for the first time in my life.\u00a0 I wasn&#8217;t worried about taking care of myself, as I could certainly do that.\u00a0 I was more concerned about simply being alone, feeling lonely, and possibly dealing with an anxiety attack.\u00a0 It took several years for me to adjust to and appreciate living alone, but I do prefer it that way now.\u00a0 The anxiety attacks have essentially disappeared, and I think that has a lot to do with not having Rita around complaining about everything and fighting with the kids.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n<p>In the court petition shown in the image gallery that asked to have me evicted from the house, she claimed I attempted suicide by cutting my left wrist and an &#8220;indention&#8221; on my head.\u00a0 She also claimed I&#8217;d &#8220;destroyed&#8221; my office during this episode.\u00a0 There is a hint of truth to this, and thinking back on it, I have to laugh.\u00a0 I was in my office at Penn State when the panic started and decided I needed to get out and walk to relax.\u00a0 I was pretty shaky and tripped over the strap on my bag.\u00a0 To catch my balance, I put my hand against a swivel recliner I had in my office.\u00a0 It didn&#8217;t swivel easily, but I put enough force on it for it to start to rotate.\u00a0 I was really off balance at this point and grabbed a shelf on the bookcase on the far right in the image to stop my fall.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the bookcase wasn&#8217;t attached to the wall, was very top-heavy, and it started to tip over.\u00a0 By the time I let go, it was too far over and continued to fall.\u00a0 Fortunately, my desk and the swivel chair prevented it from falling directly on me.\u00a0 I just got showered with dozens of books.\u00a0 See the image gallery for a picture showing the chair turned the other way at the time of this incident and the bookcase.\u00a0 At that point, the events had so rattled me that I just called Rita.\u00a0 The petition says she showed up 45 minutes later, which is odd because we lived about a five-minute drive from my office, and I recall Rita arriving not long after I called.\u00a0 She immediately drove me to the hospital, not because I had injured myself in any way, but to have me admitted to the psychiatric ward.\u00a0 I didn&#8217;t think that was necessary, but I was too frazzled to protest.\u00a0 In hindsight, I think she did this for purely selfish reasons, i.e., to force me to move out of the house.\u00a0 I recall they kept me at the hospital for a couple of days until they realized I was okay.\u00a0 When my attorney notified me of the petition, I took pictures&#8211;these are contained in the image gallery&#8211;of my head and wrist, showing that there were no cuts on my wrist or an indention on my head.<\/p>\r\n<p>In hindsight, this petition should have been my warning that Rita would play dirty by distorting the truth and blatantly lying; I had no family in the area with whom to stay.\u00a0 However, I do not remember seeing it until my attorney gave me copies of her files many years later.\u00a0 It appears there was a hearing scheduled for October 2, 2012, but the court postponed it until December 20 for some reason.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t recall anything about this hearing and suspect it didn&#8217;t occur because, on December 21, Rita filed a praecipe to discontinue the divorce complaint.<\/p>\r\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-2006 .fg-image { width: 640px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-center fg-image-viewer fg-ready fg-dark fg-border-thin fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-hover fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-2006\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;src&quot;,&quot;srcset&quot;:&quot;srcset&quot;,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true,&quot;autoplay&quot;:0}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-5-25-12-at-4.43-PM.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"2007\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-5-25-12-at-4_43-PM\/349550082.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926.png-3.png\" data-attachment-id=\"2003\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926_png-3\/3282334795.png\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926.png-4.png\" data-attachment-id=\"2004\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926_png-4\/2488429184.png\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926.png-5.png\" data-attachment-id=\"2005\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Petition_20120926_png-5\/48486979.png\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-9-29-12-at-6.56-PM.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1997\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-9-29-12-at-6_56-PM\/4020561417.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-9-29-12-at-1.52-PM.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"1998\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/10\/Photo-on-9-29-12-at-1_52-PM\/218791016.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-prev\" title=\"Prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">6<\/span><\/label>\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-next\" title=\"Next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\r\n<p><!--nextpage-->Finally, Rita claimed I made threats by damaging property and calling her names and increased my &#8216;threats&#8217; over the prior year.\u00a0 I suppose the claim that I made a threat by damaging property was when I knocked the lamp off the table.\u00a0 This act certainly was not intended to be a threat as no one was around when I did it.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t think I&#8217;ve ever called Rita a name or used &#8220;directed obscenities&#8221; against her.\u00a0 I would never do this in front of the kids, and they were always around.\u00a0 There was no escalation of threats or abusive behavior over the prior year. Still, I think people need to make this claim so courts take them seriously, i.e., claiming the abuser is getting worse, and there&#8217;s no telling what they may do next.<\/p>\r\n<p>Despite the lack of evidence or any suggestion I was an immediate or severe threat to anyone, Judge Pam Ruest issued Rita emergency and temporary orders; I cannot imagine Rita honestly thought I would endanger her or the kids.\u00a0 I suspect that emergency and temporary orders are just routinely given out as soon as someone tells the court they&#8217;re scared.\u00a0 In an attempt to see what Rita had accused me of doing, I later requested a transcript of the <em>ex parte<\/em> hearing required for a temporary order and was told that there wasn&#8217;t one because, <em>at the time<\/em>, court reporters were not recording these hearings.\u00a0 Not transcribing a hearing is undoubtedly against all court rules I have ever seen, and I have never been to a hearing in which someone or something wasn&#8217;t recording the proceedings. \u00a0Thus, I doubt there was a hearing.\u00a0 Although I could understand, to protect all the parties involved, that transcripts of these hearings might be challenging to obtain, although that is not the case for hearings for a final order.<\/p>\r\n<p>Thus, on January 4, 2013, I became subject to the terms of the order shown in the image gallery without any input from my attorney or any allegations whatsoever that I&#8217;d done anything to the kids to warrant them needing protection. As I later learned, this shouldn&#8217;t have been surprising because courts essentially consider someone listed as a defendant on a PFA guilty until proven innocent; it&#8217;s a civil matter, not a criminal one, so this is apparently okay.<\/p>\r\n<p>The restrictions in the emergency and temporary orders read as follows:<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<ol>\r\n<li>Defendant shall not abuse, harass, stalk or threaten any of the above persons in any place where they might be found.<\/li>\r\n<li>Defendant is evicted and excluded from the residence at: <br \/>247 McBath Street, State College, PA\u00a0 16801<br \/>or any other permanent or temporary residence where Plaintiff or any other person protected under this order may live.<br \/>Plaintiff is granted exclusive possession of the residence.\u00a0 Defendant shall have no right or privilege to enter or be present on the premises of Plaintiff or any other person protected under this order.<\/li>\r\n<li>Except for such contact with the minor children as may be permitted under paragraph 5 of this order, Defendant is prohibited from having ANY CONTACT with Plaintiff, or\u00b7any other person protected under this order either directly or indirectly, at any location, including but not limited to any contact at Plaintiff&#8217;s or other protected party&#8217;s school, business, or place of employment.\u00a0 Defendant is specifically ordered to stay away from the following locations for the duration of this order.<br \/>Defendant may not post any remark(s) regarding Plaintiff on any social network(s), including, but not limited to, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, or any other electronic network(s).<\/li>\r\n<li>Except for such contact with the minor child\/ren as may be permitted under paragraph 5 of this order, Defendant shall not contact Plaintiff, or any other person protected under this order, by telephone or by any other means, including through third persons.<\/li>\r\n<li>CUSTODY<br \/>Until the final hearing, all contact between Defendant and the child\/ren shall be limited to the following:<br \/>* Only supervised visits.<br \/>Pending the outcome of the final hearing in this matter, Plaintiff is awarded temporary custody of the following minor child\/ren:<br \/>1. Caleb Mockensturm<br \/>2. Amanda Mockensturm <br \/>3. Amelia Mockensturm<br \/>The local law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction where the child\/ren are located shall ensure that the child\/ren are placed in the care and control of Plaintiff in accordance with the terms of this order.<\/li>\r\n<li>The following additional relief is granted:<br \/>Defendant is prohibited from stalking, as defined in 18 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 2709.1, or harassing, as described in 18 Pa.C.S.A. \u00a7 2709, the following family and household members of Plaintiff:<br \/>Name, Relationship, Address<br \/>Debra Benson, Sister <br \/>Joan Hanson, Mother<br \/><br \/>Other Relief:<br \/>&#8211; Description of Plaintiff out of pocket financial losses:\u00a0 Loss of work and cost of lock changes<br \/>&#8211; Defendant is ordered to pay temporary support to Plaintiff and\/or the minor child\/ren, including medical support.<br \/>&#8211; Defendant shall pay Plaintiff for the reasonable financial losses suffered as the result of the abuse, to be determined at the hearing.<br \/>&#8211; Defendant is ordered to pay the costs of this action, including filing and service fees.<br \/>&#8211; Defendant is ordered to pay Plaintiff&#8217;s reasonable attorney&#8217;s fees.<\/li>\r\n<li>A certified copy of this order shall be provided to the sheriff or police department where Plaintiff resides and any other agency specified hereafter;<br \/>All Centre County Law Enforcement Agencies, including Attachment &#8216;A&#8217; if applicable.<\/li>\r\n<li>The sheriff, police or other law enforcement agencies are directed to serve Defendant with a copy of the petition, any order issued, and the order for hearing.\u00a0 Petitioner will inform the designated authority of any addresses, other than Defendant&#8217;s residence, where Defendant can be served.<\/li>\r\n<li>THIS ORDER APPLIES IMMEDIATELY TO DEFENDANT AND SHALL REMAIN IN EFFECT UNTIL FEBRUARY 4, 2013 OR UNTIL OTHERWISE MODIFIED OR TERMINATED BY THIS COURT AFTER NOTICE AND HEARING.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; float: left; width: 400px; padding-right: 10pt;\">\r\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-254 .fg-image { width: 400px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-right fg-image-viewer fg-ready fg-dark fg-border-thin fg-round-small fg-loading-dots fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-always fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-254\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;src&quot;,&quot;srcset&quot;:&quot;srcset&quot;,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true,&quot;autoplay&quot;:0}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p1.png\" data-caption-title=\"Temporary PFA\" data-attachment-id=\"255\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p1\/429331665.png\" title=\"Temporary PFA\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Temporary PFA<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p2.png\" data-caption-title=\"Temporary PFA\" data-attachment-id=\"256\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p2\/3658666114.png\" title=\"Temporary PFA\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Temporary PFA<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p3.png\" data-caption-title=\"Temporary PFA\" data-attachment-id=\"257\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p3\/2607705267.png\" title=\"Temporary PFA\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Temporary PFA<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p4.png\" data-caption-title=\"Temporary PFA\" data-attachment-id=\"258\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Temporary_Order_2013_01_04_p4\/872132251.png\" title=\"Temporary PFA\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Temporary PFA<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-prev\" title=\"Prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">4<\/span><\/label>\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-next\" title=\"Next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p>With no family in the area and not wanting to involve friends or colleagues in the situation, I&#8217;m glad Rita at least waited until I had a place to stay before applying for this order.<\/p>\r\n<p>The court initially set the hearing to allow me to present my side of the story for January 14, 2013, at 10:00 AM and within the ten-day of issuing the temporary order. However, because Rita&#8217;s lawyer was &#8216;busy&#8217; she had the hearing continued until February 1. Again, while the statute states that this hearing must be within ten days of the petition&#8217;s filing, it seems like the courts ignore this. If her lawyer files something, she should sacrifice whatever is on her schedule to make the scheduled hearing and follow the law.<\/p>\r\n<p>As I have learned, this is one of the many ways the courts take very liberal views of the PFA Act. If you&#8217;re a fan of courtroom dramas, you might be thinking, &#8220;He should have been able to get the order thrown out on a technicality.&#8221; The reality is, that is not how real-world courts work unless, of course, the crime is severe and there is a great deal of public interest in the case and scrutiny on the court. For example, had I objected to the issuance of the order at the hearing because it occurred after the ten-day period required by the statute, the judge could have asked Rita on the spot if she wanted to request another order, thus resetting the ten-day window. The law would have required that the judge delay the hearing if I asked for it, but this would have angered the judge and worsened my situation. The best time to raise the issue of an order being invalid for not following statutory procedures would seemingly be at a violation hearing.<\/p>\r\n<p>As I will discuss later, the prosecution must establish that an order is legally valid for someone to have violated it. I have no idea what would have happened had I suggested at a violation hearing that, because the final order hearing did not occur within ten days of the request, the order was not legally valid. Still, I can guarantee that it would not have made any difference. The judge would deem the order valid or argue that I had not made an objection at the final order hearing, and I had lost my chance to object to the order&#8217;s validity. Ultimately, judges would do whatever they wanted and told me I could appeal the decision. I will discuss later why appealing a ruling that a PFA violation is simply a waste of time, and essentially no one does it.<\/p>\r\n<p><!--nextpage-->Regardless, it turned out that the hearing delay was postponing the inevitable, as multiple lawyers told me there was much more to lose in fighting the order than simply agreeing to it without an admission of guilt. Official statistics say that about 95% of them are granted in Centre County anyway (see the Appendix with statistics across the state). However, all the lawyers I spoke with seemed to think this number was low as not one knew of the courts denying an order for many years. I suspect that some accusers drop the petition, and lawyers never get involved. Second, if there were a hearing, there would be a public record of whatever was said. Because the allegations almost always are one person&#8217;s word against another&#8217;s, it&#8217;s easy to lie or exaggerate things without any threat of perjury. Plus, the plaintiff&#8217;s attorney, who is not under oath, can say anything they want. My attorney told me that whether true or not, the accusations Rita or her attorney might make in the hearing could have hurt my reputation even more; at the time, I was still trying to save my reputation.<\/p>\r\n<p>Additionally, there was no way of disproving anything Rita said; it would merely have been my word against hers, and my attorney said I would always lose that argument. It didn&#8217;t seem to matter that Rita had no proof or evidence of any abuse. Thus, I agreed to the order without admitting guilt,<\/p>\r\n<p>Foreshadowing what happened next, I wrote the following while incarcerated in the Centre County jail.<\/p>\r\n<blockquote>\r\n<p>I am looking forward to finally being able to defend myself and hopefully prevent a final order from being issued. However, my attorney says that it is not even worth trying. Her argument to me is this. After two violations, Pam Ruest is angry with me and is <em>very<\/em> unlikely not to issue the order. It turns out that she hardly ever (if ever) declines to grant a final Protection from Abuse order. I am told that a prominent judge in the county had many years ago declined to grant such an order, and the accused wound up killing the accuser. The blowback from the community who elected the judge was tremendous. Thus, no judge wants to risk denying an order and then being blamed for someone being hurt or killed.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n<p><!--nextpage--><\/p>\r\n<p><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\">When the hearing finally took place, with me in handcuffs and shackles, I agreed to essentially plead <span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8cbaade9ff0_button\" class=\"su-tooltip-button su-tooltip-button-outline-yes\" aria-describedby=\"su_tooltip_6a8cbaade9ff0\" data-settings='{\"position\":\"top\",\"behavior\":\"hover\",\"hideDelay\":0}' tabindex=\"0\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>nolo contendre<\/em><\/span><\/span><span style=\"display:none;z-index:100\" id=\"su_tooltip_6a8cbaade9ff0\" class=\"su-tooltip\" role=\"tooltip\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-inner su-tooltip-shadow-yes\" style=\"z-index:100;background:#222222;color:#FFFFFF;font-size:16px;border-radius:5px;text-align:left;max-width:300px;line-height:1.25\"><span class=\"su-tooltip-title\"><\/span><span class=\"su-tooltip-content su-u-trim\">Tooltip content<\/span><\/span><span id=\"su_tooltip_6a8cbaade9ff0_arrow\" class=\"su-tooltip-arrow\" style=\"z-index:100;background:#222222\" data-popper-arrow><\/span><\/span><\/span><span style=\"font-size: inherit;\"> and stipulated to the court issuing the order without admitting guilt. Part of my thinking was that since I had never abused Rita and the judge had modified the order to remove the kids and allow me to communicate with Rita about the kids, it would not be a problem abiding by it. I had no idea how easy the order would be to violate unintentionally. I also had no idea at the time it would last for three years.<br \/><\/span><\/p>\r\n<div style=\"display: flex; float: right; width: 400px; padding-left: 10pt;\">\r\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-286 .fg-image { width: 400px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-image-viewer foogallery-link-image foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-right fg-image-viewer fg-ready fg-dark fg-border-thin fg-round-small fg-loading-dots fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-always fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-286\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true,&quot;src&quot;:&quot;src&quot;,&quot;srcset&quot;:&quot;srcset&quot;,&quot;template&quot;:{&quot;loop&quot;:true,&quot;autoplay&quot;:0}}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fiv-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-inner-container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p1.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"293\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p1\/3261354888.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p2.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"292\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p2\/1500209810.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p3.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"291\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p3\/2873178375.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p4.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"290\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p4\/3020162791.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p5.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"289\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p5\/89869766.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p6.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"288\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p6\/2656337116.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-loading\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p7.png\" data-caption-title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" data-attachment-id=\"287\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img src=\"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/cache\/2021\/02\/Final_Order_2013_02_04_p7\/2524924773.png\" title=\"Gallery 4.2:  Final Order\" width=\"400\" height=\"500\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Gallery 4.2:  Final Order<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"fiv-ctrls\">\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-prev\" title=\"Prev\"><span>Prev<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"fiv-count\"><span class=\"fiv-count-current\">1<\/span>of<span class=\"fiv-count-total\">7<\/span><\/label>\n\t\t\t<button type=\"button\" class=\"fiv-next\" title=\"Next\"><span>Next<\/span><\/button>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<p>The final order, issued on February 1, 2013, just as the temporary order expired, is shown in the image gallery.\u00a0 Notable modifications include the removal of my children from the order. However, it seems to make it somewhat less clear who exactly is protected as it includes, in addition to &#8220;spouse or former spouse of Defendant,&#8221; &#8220;parent of a child with Defendant,&#8221; &#8220;current or former sexual or intimate partner with Defendant,&#8221; and &#8220;family member related by marriage or affinity to Defendant.&#8221; These people obviously could and, in some cases, do include more people than Rita, her mother, and her sister.\u00a0 My understanding for the entire time the order was active was that the court meant to protect Rita and <em>the female<\/em> members of her immediate family.\u00a0 The court also seemed to interpret the order in this way.<\/p>\r\n<p>Item 3 was modified to include the clause, &#8220;Contact regarding parties&#8217; children shall be made through text message only.&#8221; The judge changed the supervised visitation requirement of Item 5 to, &#8220;Defendant shall have supervised visits with the children until results of mental health evaluation are received.&#8221; The judge replaced all the requirements to pay for Rita&#8217;s expenses and court costs in Item 6 with &#8220;Defendant shall undergo a mental health evaluation.&#8221; and &#8220;Defendant shall not be on McBath Street unless it regards the children.&#8221;<\/p>\r\n<p>This final order is an excellent example of how restrictions can be both overly vague and overly narrow, making it difficult for someone to know how a court will interpret them.\u00a0 For example, the &#8220;Protect Person(s)&#8221; could include the mother of any of the defendant&#8217;s children and anyone that had been a sexual partner of the defendant.\u00a0 Fortunately for me, this was irrelevant.\u00a0 Restricting contact with any of Rita&#8217;s family did affect me, but it seems like the court took a narrow view of this.\u00a0 Finally, the requirement that I &#8220;not be on McBath Street&#8221; assumed Rita remained to live on McBath Street for the next three years.\u00a0 I wound up moving back into the house on McBath Street before this order expired.\u00a0 When I asked about getting the order modified, I was told, &#8220;Don&#8217;t worry about it.&#8221; However, after I insisted, we had a hearing to change the order.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I have included Rita&#8217;s application in the image gallery below and will address the accusations in the following paragraphs. In addition, I have included two other applications for reference. The first is the eight-page application Rita&#8217;s attorney, Tonia Torquato, had filed against her estranged husband. The second is the application of the estranged wife of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-69","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=69"}],"version-history":[{"count":56,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2016,"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/69\/revisions\/2016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unstablefocus.mynetgear.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=69"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}