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The court in the southern city of Granada ruled that Juana Rivas was "exploiting the argument of abuse" to retain custody of her sons, now aged 12 and four, and ordered her to pay 30,000 euros ($35,000) in compensation and her ex-partner's legal costs.
It also ruled she cannot have custody of her children for six years, accusing her of "child abduction."
Rivas ran away from Sardinia in May 2016 and filed a complaint of domestic abuse against her then Italian partner Francesco Arcuri in July that year, which he denied.
The custody battle lept into the limelight in July 2017 when a court ordered her to hand the children over to Arcuri.
She went into hiding for one month with her children, before turning herself in to a court in Granada and handing over the kids.
Her plight sparked a vivid debate in Spain, where the struggle against domestic violence is a top government priority.
While some criticised her for breaking the law and cast doubt on her claims, others supported her, pointing out that Arcuri had already been condemned for domestic abuse in 2009.
The Granada court acknowledged this, saying he had been found guilty of hitting Rivas when they lived in Spain after confronting her for coming home around five in the morning.
But it argued the couple had later decided to give it another go, that Rivas moved to Italy and they had a second child.
In her 2016 complaint, Rivas said she lived through hell while in Sardinia, saying Arcuri would "lock her up in a room for hours, hit her, spit in her face, pull her hair," according to the court ruling.
She also said her children, particularly the eldest, had "suffered a lot and been witness to various things."
But the court said a psychologist had examined their eldest son and had found no trace of trauma linked to domestic abuse.
It added there was no evidence of any abuse after the 2009 incident.
"The facts show that she decided to separate (from Arcuri) in the summer of 2016 and... she realised there would be a big stumbling block with custody of the two children," the court concluded.
"To get custody, she decided to exploit the argument of abuse."
Her sentence caused a major stir in Spain, becoming the biggest trending topic on Twitter.
pulseng
Some law sef
ReplyDeleteI am much more concerned about the psychological states of the children involved.
ReplyDeleteThe only hung I saw was that she went back to her abuser and had another child with him. Now, she’s going to rot in jail because the man become wiser is his games. Women, if he hits you th first time, he will never stop hitting you.
ReplyDeleteWhich law be this now
ReplyDeleteⓂc pinky
Na wa. Many laws don't favor women at all. This is painful
ReplyDeleteWhen d abuser has a good lawyer
ReplyDeleteHeading: "Alleged abusive husband" you mean?
ReplyDeleteWomen, please make sure you report all forms of physical abuse to the authorities even if you don’t press charged. It’s ”Alleged” becsuse she never reported him.
DeleteHaba na
ReplyDeleteMale abusers tend to be very smart and ironically do not tolerate you trying to outrun them. The woman unfortunately did not document any abuse when she returned neither did she call the police and file a report on his arse . She also had no medical evidence of any abuse. Ladies I am begging you, when you leave such a person NEVER go back. Also PLAN your escape very well and use the law to your advantage. To fight a man legally you need to think like one. I am yet to meet an abuser who will actually admit the abuse. They deny as they know you did not compile any evidence and won't have the money to get a correct lawyer.
ReplyDeleteThank you 🙏🏽. But it’s easier said than done. I personally forgave him and went back twice before I finally realize that he won’t change. I reported all physical abuse but pulled out before we got to court ,because who really wants their father of their children in jail.
DeleteI finally left and couldn’t be happier.
I feel so bad for this mother. Abusive men will wreck you psychologically & then appear all calm & composed in court, claiming loving father. These boys will suffer under that man’s care. Abusive husbands will not miracously transform to a loving father. Abusive men are most likely to seek custody to punish the mother that had the audacity to leave him. He will use the children to continue to control the mother & hurt her.
DeleteThe law should protect the children to avoid stories that touch later on.
ReplyDeleteThe next thing we will hear in cases like this, is that the dead bodies were found later. That time, the law will know that they messed up.
ReplyDelete