Tarena W. Franklin - Wauwatosa, WI

If you are trying to escape a domestic violence situation, please look elsewhere! The decisions made in my case destroyed my family. After I escaped an abusive situation, I expected the system to protect my children. Instead, every parental right to protect my children was stripped from me. Even my youngest daughter—who is not biologically connected to my ex—was placed with him through a legal loophole. I have lived with the consequences of that decision every day since. Over the years, I witnessed my children suffer emotionally, mentally, psychologically, and physically. I raised concerns repeatedly, but I've been dismissed and ignored. I saw patterns of behavior that terrified me. I watched my youngest daughter become increasingly attached to someone whose sole intent is harming her, to the point where she now shows signs of severe trauma bonding and Stockholm Syndrome. My oldest daughter’s decline has been one of the most devastating experiences of my life. As she grew older and began questioning things, she was met with gaslighting and manipulation. At one point, she was drugged, and she has never been the same. She now struggles to function, talks to herself, and is now living on the streets. For a period of time, she was living in her car in his driveway, and I learned she was forced to use a bucket in the garage as a bathroom. This is his biological daughter. I've had a missing persons report out on her for months, while receiving disturbing messages from unknown numbers claiming she is being "pimped out". My baby had her whole life ahead of her. Now it's ruined! I can only imagine what is happening to my youngest, who is not biologically his. He is taking my children out of the country without my consent despite the fact that he is not on my youngest daughter’s birth certificate and they don't even have the same last name. How is this possible? I have proof that he has falsified documents submitted to the school board. My youngest has been pressured to change her name and coached to lie to the police about me. He has hacked into my daughter's social media accounts to impersonate her and harass me. He has sent messages to my children impersonating me to further damage my relationship with my children. I don’t even have my daughter’s phone number anymore because he made her change it. Throughout this process, my concerns were minimized. My ex was given a dangerous level of credibility and access. My attempts to protect my children were reframed as harmful. I was threatened with 6 months jail time if I didn’t pay fees, even while I had no access to my children. I paid what I could under duress, terrified of the consequences. As a GAL she was supposed to remain neutral and act in the best interest of my children but she did not. My ex husband and Attorney Washington- Franklin were on a first name basis. She allowed him to blatantly lie throughout the entire process and even after him being caught in lies did nothing. She excused herself from my case, but not before entering into her notes for the next GAL that the evidence of my children's molestations should be disregarded and that I was only using the evidence to "further traumatize" my own daughter! Meanwhile, my ex was allowed to make decisions regarding my children’s mental health, despite court orders. I have lived with ongoing harassment, stalking, and fear for my safety and theirs. No mother should have to fight this hard just to keep her children safe. I speak out because I don’t want anyone else to endure what we have endured.