Comment on our article:
The most dangerous Guardian Ad Litem in Fairfax Arlington County
Deborah S. Olin G.A.L
Dawn Davis (not verified)
at 15:45 on September 29th, 2009
He pulled a knife on me and locked himself in the bathroom. He kept yelling that he wished he was dead and wished he had a gun. When I tried to leave with our son in my arms, he swung open the door and tried to pull our son from my arms into the bathroom with the knife.
I am learning that my story is all too familiar. My divorce case was heard in Suffolk, Virginia (3 hours southwest of Fairfax).
I have lived in Northern VA for a little over two years now, since my ex-husband threw me and our 20 month old son at the time out of our home.
He pulled a knife on me and locked himself in the bathroom. He kept yelling that he wished he was dead and wished he had a gun. When I tried to leave with our son in my arms, he swung open the door and tried to pull our son from my arms into the bathroom with the knife.
During the first hearing two years ago, I was awarded full custody and he got supervised visitation. He was also ordered to go to a psychiatrist for an evaluation, which he turned out to be diagnosed with Major Depression and Adjustment Disorder.
A Guardian ad Litem, T. Kirk Pretlow was assigned to the case at the request of my husband's attorney. My attorney objected, requesting the judge appoint his own, but the judge turned the request down.
From that point on and for two years, the GAL was a nightmare for me. He never called me, interviewed me. or even called my son's daycare and doctor for interviews. He kept threatening me to "talk" to my husband or it would result in me losing custody.
I replied to him (through email) that I had no problems talking to my husband, but only about our son. My husband wanted to talk to me everyday, and cried to the GAL whenever I didn't citing that I was not communicating.
To make matters worse, my husband assaulted my mom during a visitation drop off and was convicted in August 2008.
The GAL told me that it was my fault for the assault, even though I wasn't even there. He always blamed me for my husband's outbursts. I reported the GAL to the Virginia Sate Board in November 2008 and wrote a letter to the judge. By rule, they notify the attorney when a complaint is filed.
I was hoping this would get him to remove himself from the case, make the judge remove him or at least make him do his job, but it did not. He said that my son should stay with me, but during the final trial on August 31, 2009, he stood up and said that he "changed his mind." He said that I needed to "mellow out" and I needed to have my son taken away from me to teach me a lesson and make me talk to my husband.
The judge had said earlier in the case that he would wait for the GAL's opinion before making a ruling on custody.
The parenting evaluator also changed his mind. His first report recommended that I keep physical custody, with my son not spending more than a week from me. Well, in February 2009, he was paid double by my husband to conduct a new evaluation and had already conducted a home visit before even calling me to tell me. His name is Dr. Brian K. Wald.
In court, he admitted to being paid $6000 by my husband and $1000 for his appearance. He even lied about when he spoke to me.
I lost physical custody of my son to a man with mental illness and an arrest record. I would ask myself how o why this happened, but I know how, and only the good Lord knows why.
I believe that this is a temporary situation to allow me to reach out to others and share my story. Shedding light on our judicial system is the only way there will truly be justice. There are so many corrupt attorneys and judges out there, that to try a remove them all on your own would take forever. But to bring the stories together and shed the light on the bigger issue;
Children being displaced and losing precious years for no reason. If you want to share your story, you have a pair of ears ready to listen. I plan to write an editorial to publish of the many stories out there that are all too familiar and devastating.
