![]() She has the dogged determination that would lend itself to the lengthy legal battle against Carter that she says has drained her savings and forced her to learn how to become her own attorney when she could no longer afford to pay for one. She spoke out against the nursing home where her father and many other residents contracted Covid-19. Later this year, a judge is scheduled to decide the role Marissa’s son’s alleged rapist will play in her children’s lives.Īssertive and a quick learner, Marissa is a ready advocate for herself and her family – a skill she’s used elsewhere in her personal life. Throughout their three-year legal battle, Carter has retained steady legal representation – unlike Marissa – and countered that Marissa has been “coaching” Zachary to report allegations of abuse by Carter. Carter is seeking to legally change Zachary’s birth certificate to list him as the father – a change known as “de facto” parentage of Zachary in court, which would grant Carter legal rights to act as Zachary’s father. After filing the report, she hired an attorney to put together a plan for how she and Carter would share custody of Zachary’s then-three-year-old brother Eli, their biological son (Zacharyhas a different biological father).Ĭarter has repeatedly denied Zachary’s allegations through his lawyer and has been fighting for parental rights not only of Eli but also of Zachary, whose biological father is out of the picture. She’d been dealing with the court system since she and her ex separated in 2018, the same year she filed a police report alleging Carter physically assaulted her (he was found not guilty of domestic violence in court six months later). She was also receiving federal food benefits, Medicaid and state heating assistance. (The Guardian is using pseudonyms for the families in this article to protect their privacy and safety.)īut the allegations of abuse also complicated an already contentious custody battle between Marissa and her ex – and for Marissa, illuminated the unexpected pitfalls that mothers face when accusing their partners of abuse in family court.Īt the time of Zachary’s counselor’s call, Marissa was a medical school student supporting herself and her children on student loans. The disclosure was deeply troubling on its own – in the months that followed, Zachary would disclose additional and increasingly severe incidents of abuse, including rape, by Carter to a King county child interview specialist and his counselor over multiple interviews and sessions, according to a case report filed by the local police department. That day, Marissa heard the news she would spend the next several months going over again and again: Zachary had revealed to his counselor that Carter had “touched his private parts” in bed when the family had lived together. At the time, Marissa’s nine-year old son Zachary attended regular counseling sessions as a result of Marissa’s ongoing legal battles with her ex-boyfriend, Carter. ![]() $24-$26 / Hourly - Full Time Position Monday - Friday with Full benefitsĪll qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.Marissa stepped into the backyard of their home outside of Seattle, Washington, to speak to the counselor privately.
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