Parental Alienation: A consequence of Domestic Violence Allegations
Parental alienation is a term commonly used throughout family court proceedings and refers to when one parent sets to brainwash their child to turn them against the other parent and in effect alienates them, causing the child to dislike their other parent and ultimately destroying family relationships. As part of the attempt to brainwash a child behaviour amounting to criminal conduct can be alleged such as physical and/or emotional abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse and serious assaults. It is most often men affected by parental alienation and coupled with the stress and anxiety of family court proceedings, find themselves also facing a criminal investigation, whether that be in relation to abuse of the child or the mother.
At Eventum Legal we have witnessed the great lengths one parent will go to alienate the other parent, including false allegations of criminal offences including but not limited to domestic and sexual abuse, which have the consequences of police involvement, criminal court proceedings, and court orders which seek to prohibit contact between a parent and their child. These allegations often run alongside family court proceedings and can be used to bolster applications made to the family court whether they concern child arrangements, residency in the family home or for legal aid funding. We often find that when one parent realises allegations of violence or sexual abuse will assist them getting what they want from family proceedings an allegation is subsequently made to the police.
There is no question that efforts made by others to remove a parent from their child’s life is distressing, devastating and emotions ranging from sadness to anger are at a high. Having a legal team on your side who understands this impact and the correlation between such proceedings can make a huge difference to the outcome of the case.
Criminal Allegations Which Can Be Made to Alienate the Other Parent
At Eventum Legal we represent men and women accused of domestic and sexual violence, which often arise together. The large majority of our clients are male, and they are accused of a variety of offences which from the moment of the allegation being made prevent them from being involved in their child’s life, whether in part or in full. This restriction can be legally enforceable via bail conditions, Domestic Violence Protection Notices (DVPNs) Domestic Violence Protection Orders (DVPOs), and if convicted more long-term orders which can lead to prohibitions lasting years.
With a combined experience of 25 years our team know exactly how this impacts our clients both mentally and physically often leading to a severe decline in their health. The breakdown of a parent and child relationship is a severe consequence of false allegations being made within a family setting, but apply a pro active approach to defending the allegations is advised to enable you to carry on with life as normally as possible.
Allegations which we commonly deal with include,
assault,
non-fatal strangulation,
rape,
sexual assault,
child sexual abuse and
controlling or coercive behaviour. All very serious allegations which can result in custodial sentences where a person is convicted.
The Impact of Criminal Proceedings on Family Court Proceedings and Vice Versa
Although criminal allegations are dealt with by different courts with different rules in place to regulate and oversee proceedings, there can be a considerable overlap between criminal and family proceedings.
In any legal proceedings, it is essential to accurately establish the facts of the case. However, this can be especially challenging when cases involve both criminal and family law proceedings. This is because the two types of cases often involve different types of evidence and standards of proof. For example, in a criminal proceeding, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty, while in a family law proceeding, the burden of proof is lower meaning that a family court could find that an allegation of criminal behaviour has taken place, whereas the person may not be convicted in the criminal courts. Therefore, the benefit of having two lawyers involved where two sets of proceedings are running alongside each other is essential to ensure a consistent approach is taken, and conflicts over evidence being produced in each proceedings are avoided. The last thing an accused wants is for evidence to be presented in family proceedings which is ultimately going to damage their defence in criminal proceedings.
It is also important to note that family court documents cannot be released for criminal proceedings without the permission of the family judge. Therefore, an application must be made by your criminal lawyers to request the relevant papers. Due to the nature of the work that we do at Eventum Legal our team are experienced in liaising with the family courts where necessary in order to defend our client and obtain the required papers.
What Should you Do?
If you are under investigation for an alleged offence that is made by a person closely connected to you such as an ex-partner, mother to your children, or a child of the family then seeking legal advice is crucial. If these allegations also form part of applications made in family court proceedings, then having specialist lawyers from each field working together is advised. The benefit to this is that your legal interests and rights are protected and there is the assurance that no conflicts arise. Keeping your position safeguarded during both proceedings is crucial.
Case Study
At the moment we are currently working together with a family law team for our client who is accused of rape by his ex-wife who is also mother of his three children. Our client is under police investigation, but Child Arrangements Orders have been made in the family court. The information provided to the family court by his ex-wife have assisted in the criminal proceedings due to the inconsistencies she has provided in various statements throughout.
The family proceedings have concluded much quicker than criminal proceedings but the benefits to the client of having lawyers from both fields working together to assist his case has been hugely beneficial. During the family proceedings we regularly liaised with our client’s family lawyer and proofed their work to ensure that no harm would come to clients criminal defence as a result of family court documents lodged by him .
As we continue to represent the client through the police investigation, we have no doubt that our working relationship with his family law solicitors has benefitted his defence in criminal proceedings.
How We Can Help You
Our extensive knowledge of how criminal proceedings and family law proceedings overlap provides our clients with the assurance that we know exactly what we are doing when there are ongoing family and criminal proceedings, both of which require a strong defence to false allegations of a criminal nature.
Protecting our clients interests is paramount and we are alive to the motives that can be behind false allegations which make us best placed for effective representation and support.
Speak to our lawyers confidentially and free of charge today if criminal offences have been alleged against you.
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