April 29, 2024 by Natalie Cochran
Lone Star Legal Aid’s Cheranda Robertson Protects Survivor of Domestic Abuse
Claire met Drew at church in Illinois, and they quickly connected, fell in love, and got married. They were 25 years old. Claire says Drew seemed like the perfect man, but she later learned that all his kindness and lavish treatment toward her during their short honeymoon phase was what experts in family violence refer to as “love bombing.” It was a plan to trick her into a very harmful relationship that was about to happen.
Everything seemed wonderful until about six months into their marriage, when Drew began verbally abusing Claire by using rude language, tearing her down, and making her feel trapped and worthless. She began feeling like she was being destroyed. In a desperate effort to seek help, she reached out to her church leadership. Claire became discouraged when her church leaders counseled her to stay with Drew to try to work things out.
Their marriage did not get better, and there wasn’t a change in Drew’s behavior. Around eight months into the marriage, Drew’s verbal abuse grew into physical violence. Drew would become angry with Claire and push her around, block doorways with his body, elbow her, and threaten her life. About a year into the marriage, with no way out, Claire found out she was pregnant. One day, when she was about three months pregnant, she had just arrived home from a job interview and was making herself lunch when Drew became angry and started yelling at her, getting in her face, poking her in the chest and trying to provoke her. Claire could tell that Drew was only getting angrier, and began to fear for her safety. She called 911, but Drew grabbed her cell phone. She tried to run from the room, but Drew would not let her leave. As Claire tried to escape, he pressed her so hard against the door frame that it was putting pressure on her pregnant belly.
Claire managed to escape the apartment and ran, at which time police arrived. Claire was taken to the hospital, where she and her unborn baby were checked and treated for injuries. She was relieved that the baby was not physically harmed as far as the test could show, but the same could not be said to her. Drew was somehow not arrested this time, or even the next. Claire says she lost count of how many times she had to call the police.
Their son Levi was born just before Christmas that year, and the violence continued while Levi was in the same room. Thankfully, Claire was able to protect Levi from becoming a target of her husband’s physical violence. However, Claire’s worst nightmare came true when Levi was about nine months old. She was breastfeeding him in the middle of the night. Her phone began to ring, and she saw Drew was contacting her from another room, accusing her of not attending to the baby, and stating he was angry about Levi’s crying disturbing his sleep. Drew soon barged into the room screaming. He then physically attacked Claire, who was still holding Levi. He repeatedly attacked her while shoving Levi off of her, onto the bed and eventually the floor.
Claire picked up Levi, grabbed the iPad, and ran for her life with Levi through the apartment door. She ran down the street trying to flag down any cars so that someone could help them. A kind stranger allowed her to use his phone to call 911. The police and ambulance arrived, and they were taken to the hospital and treated for many injuries. Levi was diagnosed with various contusions, a bloody nose, and a busted lip. Claire had a busted lip, and two black eyes, broken orbital bones around her eyes, bruising around her neck, and knots all over her head and face.
This time, Drew was arrested and incarcerated.
Claire obtained an Emergency Protective Order in Illinois for both her and Levi against Drew, and Drew was charged with a criminal case due to the matter. Drew was able to bail himself out of jail. Claire could not risk Drew finding and hurting her and the baby, so she wanted to get as far away as possible.
Claire had a strong family support system in Texas, so she and Levi moved. Once she met the jurisdiction requirements of Texas, she applied with Lone Star Legal Aid to help her file a divorce and custody case. Her case was accepted, and assigned to Cheranda Robertson in our Crime Victim Unit, who quickly got to work. However, Drew refused to enter any sort of agreement. He was going to drag this process out as long as possible, even if it meant trial. We knew that her best chances of winning sole managing conservatorship and no visitation for Drew would come from Drew being convicted in the Illinois criminal family violence case.
We would not set trial in the family law case until this criminal case was done, because we kept in contact with the Illinois prosecutors, who assured us that he’d likely be convicted based on the evidence they had against him. Finally, in April 2023, that criminal case ended in a guilty plea. Drew received three years of probation, as well as a second two-year Protective Order, which would begin at the end of the three years of probation. This meant Drew was ordered to have no contact with Claire for at least five years. We proceeded to trial in the divorce.
At trial, we were able to prove that Drew exhibited a history and pattern of abuse toward Claire, as well as a history and pattern of abuse and neglect toward Levi. She endured tough questions from Drew’s lawyer, saw upsetting pictures of the injuries she suffered, and had to share all the painful details of what happened in front of people she didn’t know. This included a judge who had the power to decide what would happen to her and her son.
Attorney Robertson watched Claire in awe through this process, as she proved to us all that she had undoubtedly transformed from victim to survivor. “She was strong, poised, and confident; but, more than anything, she was determined. Determined to protect herself and Levi from ever having to endure violence from Drew again,” Robertson said.
Robertson wasn’t sure what the ruling would be at the end of the trial, after both sides rested their cases. The judge took the matter “under advisement,” which means that rather than issuing an immediate ruling, we would have to wait for the final decision. Lone Star Legal Aid waited on pins and needles, and a few days later, we received the ruling.
The judge granted the divorce in favor of Claire on grounds of cruelty. She found family violence on the part of Drew, and she ruled Claire was awarded sole managing conservatorship of Levi. The judge denied Drew any possession of or access to Levi. The judge also granted our request that Claire not have to provide certain personal and contact information to the Court and Drew, which would normally have to be provided and updated until Levi turns 18, because being required to do so would expose her and Levi to “serious harm, abuse, or injury.” Claire was not only awarded child support, but also the retroactive child support we petitioned for, since Drew had never sent any support to them during the 36 months of separation. Claire was also awarded the permanent injunctions that we requested in her petition.
“Words cannot express the relief that Claire must feel now that this case is done. She and Levi are finally free from Drew’s abuse and this grueling custody battle. There are really good orders in place designed to protect them both. Claire was a pleasure to represent. As attorneys, we always have cases and clients that just stick with us in our memories. For me, Claire, Levi and this case will do just that. It has certainly motivated me to keep doing the work we’re doing and seeking justice as well as protection for those who are most vulnerable,” Robertson said.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the client(s).
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
