Orders of Protection from Abuse can not only be protective of the threatened spouse but also the children. In K.F-M v. J.W.M., 2017 Pa. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2873,175 A.3d 421, a Fatherwho also happened to be police officer was involved in a contentious divorce with his spouse. They had multiple children. During the divorce both parties had major disagreements about custody and division of assets. One of the children provided the Mother with a letter indicating that the Father had sexually abused the child. The Mother immediately moved to obtain a PFA against the Father alleging abuse and the original trial Court awarded the PFA against the Father with regard to all of the children, not simply the one who had accused the Father of abuse. The Father appealed this determination and felt that the Court had abused discretion when it had awarded the PFA against all of the Father’s children.
The appellate Court determined that the trial Court did not abuse its discretion when it awarded the PFA and gave custody of all of the children to the Mother. The Court indicated that the evidence that the Father had abused one child was convincing enough evidence to make the PFA apply to all children See 23 Pa.C.S. § 6108(a)(4)(i)(A). The appellate Court indicated that within a dependency context, that “it may be that a family member who perpetrates sexual abuse on one child is likely to abuse another child, either sexually or otherwise.” In re M.W., 2004 PA Super 15, 842 A.2d 425, 428-29 (Pa. Super. 2004); see also In re S.B., 2003 PA Super 286, 833 A.2d 1116, 1122-23 (Pa. Super. 2003), appeal denied, 579 Pa. 693, 856 A.2d 835 (Pa. 2004); In Interest of Y.P., 353 Pa. Super. 185, 509 A.2d 397, 399 (Pa. Super. 1986) (finding that where one sibling was sexually abused, protection of the other sibling could not be achieved in the abuser’s custody). The appellate Court felt that previous concerns regarding the safety of the children warranted a PFA.
The takeaway here is that evidence of abuse that a Court finds credible regarding children will likely result in a PFA against the alleged perpetrator.