https://masslive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/07/1d8d81b44f6371/domestic-violence-victims-stru.html
Domestic violence victims struggle in family courts to retain custody of children
By Shira Schoenberg | sschoenberg@repub.com | Posted July 29, 2018 at 05:00 AM
Kristin LaFratta / MassLive
Essex Probate and Family Court in Salem.
At a court hearing for a restraining order, Jaime’s ex-husband admitted he pushed her down the stairs in front of her child, pulled her hair, slapped her face and held her against a wall, she wrote in motions filed in Essex Probate and Family Court.
In other court documents, the man admitted that during their marriage, verbal fights escalated into physical fights — and in one instance, he assaulted her, then voluntarily enrolled in anger management counseling.
During a custody battle, Jaime alleged that he continued to hurt her and their child. He denied it.
A judge concluded that both parents physically assaulted each other during their marriage, culminating in the assault by…