Violent dad-of-four who took drugs in front of his children banned from seeing them, as court urges mother to stay away from him and build a new life

A family court judge has banned a dad-of-four from having any access whatsoever to his children after a history of abusive behaviour towards their mother, drug-taking in front of the children and a general disinterest in their well-being.

Madam Justice Abigail Lofaro not only assigned full custody to the mother but banned the father from having any type of communication with his children. She also ordered him to pay €275 per child every four weeks as alimony.

At the same time, she urged the mother, who was still involved in an “on-and-off” relationship with the man, to believe in herself, stop seeing him and build a life for herself.

The couple’s relationship started when the mother was still 15 years old, the court heard. They moved in together when their first child was 18 months old. The union, however, hit the rocks irretrievably in June 2014 following one of the several episodes of violence towards her.

She was so scared of him on that occasion that she jumped out of the balcony to get away from him, sustaining serious injuries.

The woman told the court he would get drunk practically every day and often took drugs in front of the children.

The man completely ignored the court case and refused to testify or give his own version

He sometimes promised to try to change his ways and she would give him the benefit of the doubt. She admitted they had reconciled during the course of the court case and had an “on and off” relationship.

But the man had an “irascible character” due to his drug and alcohol abuse, she said. Despite trying to kick the habit by doing a number of rehabilitation programmes, he was never successful.

Appoġġ social workers testified that its domestic violence unit had investigated the woman’s case and had even referred her to Dar Merħba Bik, a shelter for victims of domestic violence.

Her file was reopened after four years, following another major incident, when a risk assessment concluded that she and her children were at high risk.

A police inspector told the court that on that occasion, the police went to the house to investigate a domestic violence report where they found the man holding a knife. He was eventually arrested and charged in court. The court proceedings are still pending.

Madam Justice Lofaro noted that the court only had the woman’s version of events because the man completely ignored the court case and refused to testify or give his own version.

The court said it would have expected more evidence to be presented, such as details of police reports filed, the man’s criminal record, testimony from representatives of the unsuccessful drug rehabilitation programmes he had attended and even someone from the Appoġġ domestic violence section to say how many times they had to intervene, as well as testimony from relatives and friends of both parties.

In the absence of this evidence, the court said it had to give weight to the most recent domestic violence case which was still pending before the courts. The man’s lack of interest in his children was “more than evident”, the court noted; he had even ignored the custody case.

“The defendant appears to be a violent man,” and seemed to “prefer alcohol and drug addictions than the interests of his children”, the judge concluded.

At the same time, the woman’s efforts to try to protect her children “always falls into the trap” of attempting reconciliation.

The judge warned the woman that although she was being awarded sole custody, this did not mean that it could not be reversed.

She told her that she must be firm, believe in herself, build her life again and stay away from the man, in her children’s best interest.

She ought to have the strength to “stop this vicious cycle”, even with the help of experts in the field, the judge counselled.

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