Obtaining an Order for Protection from Abuse as a man can be daunting – but it can be accomplished. In C. R. v. S. L. P., 2017 Pa. Super. Unsub. LEXIS 2614, *1-2 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 11, 2017) the trial court summarized the facts as follows:
The party’s custody order stated that the parties exchange custody on Friday, father to pick child up at her daycare center. On July 8, 2016, the child was not at daycare and [Appellee] (the father) went to [Appellant’s] (the mother’s) home to pick up their child. This action appeared to have been done by agreement and the location of the pick-up did not seem to affect the Decision of the Court. In the Petition for the PFA, [Appellee] stated the most recent incident of abuse as follows:
“. . . I held the door open and called 911 and she kept hitting me. I bent over for a second and she punched me in my nose. My nose started bleeding and she tried to grab my arm and she bit me twice. The police arrived and she was arrested. I filed an emergency PFA this weekend.”
Also, in the Petition for the PFA, [Appellee] stated that a prior incident occurred approximately eight (8) months ago. Specifically:
“About 8 months ago during one of our exchanges at Tractor Supply, we began arguing. Appellant tried punching me and was cussing me out during the exchange. From that point on our exchanges were to be made at the daycare. We had not had any problems since we have not had to make contact for the exchanges until now.” Trial Court Opinion,10/19/16, at 3-4
On July 11, 2016, the trial court entered a temporary PFA Order in favor of the Appellee and granted Appellee custody of the parties’ minor child. A hearing on the final PFA was held on July 25, 2016. After the hearing, the court issued a permanent PFA in favor of Appellee. C. R. v. S. L. P., 2017 Pa. Super. Unsub. LEXIS 2614, *1-2 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 11, 2017) The wife appealed the Court order.
The PFA Act defines “abuse” as one or more of the following:
(1) Attempting to cause or intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing bodily injury, serious bodily injury, rape, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault or incest with or without a deadly weapon.
(2) Placing another in reasonable fear of imminent serious bodily injury. 23 Ph.Cs. §6102(a).
The wife argued that the trial court erred in relying on the father’s testimony. Wife’s underlying assertion was that the husband was the aggressor and she was merely defending herself. This Court deferred to the trial court’s determinations regarding the credibility of witnesses. Thompson, 963 A.2d at 477.
The Court noted that a PFA petitioner is not required to file a police report, nor was it necessary for the father to introduce medical evidence of an injury. The petitioner’s testimony is sufficient if it is believed by the trial court. Custer v. Cochran, 2007 PA Super 290, 933 A.2d 1050, 1058 (Pa. Super. 2007).
The takeaway here is that violent actions by a wife or mother can result in a legitimate PFA attempt and simply the testimony of the father, if found credible regarding violent events can result in a PFA.