Robin Karr-a Kentucky mother of three-who lost custody of her two younger children when a Texas judge labeled her borderline, and issued a restraining order against her, says that corruption in the family law does not stop with a judge or a lawyer; it extends to social workers and organizations such as a father’s rights group in Dallas TX.
“I think it's important to speak out. Very few mothers have the kind of evidence I do. That's the main reason I decided to begin speaking out back when my children were taken. Most people can't prove corruption. I was determined to prove what was going on and I did. Of course, my children never came home which is what I was hoping for, but at least Judge Pirtle was voted out of office and is no longer in a position to take children.” Karr said.
Robin Karr said that she went undercover trying to prove that the judge who ruled in her case was bias and was working for the fathers’ rights groups. She contacted a director at National Fathers' Resource Center Fathers For Equal Rights, Inc., by the name of Stephen D. Finstein, via Email, and posed as Chris-a father of three, who was about to have a custody dispute for his two children from his second marriage. She told Finstein that she [Chris] was accused by his first wife of sexual abuse of his oldest son.
She says she is not saying that all father’s rights groups are corrupt, but that one was, because although they only talked via email, and she [Chris] had told them that she was being accused of sexual abuse, they still offered to help her [Chris]; furthermore they coached her how to bring false accusations against the mother in order to gain custody.
“That is exactly what happened in my case. The father's rights guys know exactly how to help fathers gain custody-even when they are abusive. The female judge before Judge Hall was Sue Pirtle. I had a father's rights attorney and judge working against me to take my children. I just had no idea until it was too late and my children had already been taken.” Karr said.
“I kept all the communication between this guy and myself. He told me step by step how to take custody away from a mother. His e-mails were sick. I'm not against fathers or father's rights but many of these groups support abusive fathers gaining custody.” Karr said forwarding me a bunch of emails that were sent to her by Stephen Finstein.
One email read “The female judge before Judge Hall was actually good for dads. Judge Hall is relatively new as a judge, but he was a family lawyer prior to his election, so I think he does pay attention to family issues. I don't have a clear read on him as yet.”
In another Finstein lists a few lawyers who are ‘fathers friendly’ as he puts it-one of which Robin said was the lawyer who represented her when her children were taken away.
In the same email he then, proceeds to say: “One other thing: You will no doubt go through a court ordered social study. This is good, and I can prepare you for that to make sure we hit all of the hot buttons and avoid any traps. But, be sure that your attorney motions the court or negotiates with the other attorney to have Ed Rodela appointed to conduct the social study. There are several people who do social studies in Rockwall county, many of whom are biased and incompetent. Rodela is known to be fair and thorough, and his fees are pretty reasonable. Judge Hall recently appointed him on another case. One woman does social studies very fast, i.e. 3 weeks, but they are worth sh... and pro-mom. Another one takes 2 years and never produces a report. Work hard to get Ed Rodela, and this will definitely increase your odds. As for the allegations you identified, this should be demonstrable through evaluation. A thorough evaluation would include a good polygraph plus other things such as history, clinical interviews, and other testing.”
In another email Finstein explains how to tape a conversation and he explains that “Even if a judge does not allow a tape, it can often be used in a social study or psychological evaluation to show intent, motivation psychological blackmail, use of the children as tools, etc. Chris, there is no question this will be an uphill battle for you, but if you have the emotional strength and financial strength that I mentioned earlier, with good strategic planning, your relationship with your children should be preserved. It's possible you could even get custody of them, depending on the circumstances. You must also consider that if your wife is as evil and vindictive as she apparently is, you will have to deal with her for many years and she will have lots of opportunities to turn the children against you.
In a message dated 3/24/2002 8:36:13 AM Central Standard Time writes:
Robin [Chris]: "Do you think the judge in TX would allow KY documents
from a prior custody case to be used against me?"
Stephen: "Hard to say. If KY confirmed that abuse occurred some years ago, even if it did not, this will work against you, however there are certain things we could do to neutralize that, such as polygraph, current testimony or deposition of your son, etc. I would need to get a complete picture of the situation in order to be most helpful to you and to your lawyer.
Don't forget, try to get Ed Rodela appointed to do a social study. Remember, your wife is trying to demoralize you. It's like Saddam Hussein in 1990 saying that the desert would flow with American blood. It sets up a fear factor. As far as I know you have not been served with divorce or custody papers. Is this correct? Again, you should consider filing first and being very aggressive. E.g., try to get temporary custody of the children and place her under supervised visitation, perhaps alleging that she is emotionally abusive to them by planting negative ideas about you in their minds and by keeping them from you in person and by phone. I am surprised she keeps calling. Keep taping everything. Be sure to label each tape. Don't tell her under any circumstances that you are taping. Ask her the name and phone number of the kids' therapist, even if you already have it. Find out how long they have been seeing the therapist. At the right time we will request the full record. You may discover that the kids have not said anything bad about you. I will also have you write a letter to the therapist offering to participate positively in their therapy. Ask who their pediatrician is, who is caring for them during the day, etc. Let's get her on tape denying you basic information about the children. “
There are a few more emails where Finstein had figured who she really was and threatens her. He sent her one last email trying to clear up her interpretation of the events.
“I am violating my own decision not to respond to your e-mails, however I want to clear up the serious distortions that you are spewing. The following is a quote from my e-mail to you: ‘One of my specialties is dealing with false sex abuse allegations. I am a Registered Sex Offender Treatment Provider in Texas, and I frequently use polygraph and other tools, such as an Abel Assessment, to help challenge false accusations. I am not a psychologist, but rather a marriage and family therapist, and sex offender therapist... I further suggested that you find a forensic psychologist to evaluate you.’
Also, if you read my disclaimer, which I included on numerous e-mails to you, I work with those falsely accused of sex offenses and I treat those correctly accused. Get a life and quit wasting my time and yours.”
Undeniably corruption in Family Court is a growing problem, and it destroys lives of innocent children. What is your take on this?
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