Federal Magistrates Court Cairns
I had been in a domestic violence relationship for 12 years with Neil Mcalloon. My eldest son was seven when we got together and he treated my son badly all the time. Neil had three DVO place on him in 1999 by the police. Again 2003 by myself and then he came back and broke the order and took my youngest. The police ended up putting up a road block in Gordonvale and getting my son back. He had 3 assaults on my youngest and one count on my other son as well as one count on me. He was given a suspended jail term of 2 years. Only due to the fact that he had gone to detox and promised to change. My eldest son and I write victim of crime reports to the judge.
In New Year’s Eve whilst holidaying in Bali in 2007. He became aggressive and started harassing me trying to get my son to sleep. See affidavit of Deborah Wright. He then started on my eldest and told him to go outside the room where he punched the hell out of my son and placed 8 stitches in his head. He threw all of us out the room no money and had to go to Bali hospital.
After that we did not stay together as we had another home in Kurrimine Beach qld only 140k/m away. That is where we resided as he would not split up our assets as he had not done his taxes. We avoided him us much as possible waiting for him to do the taxes.
Then in February 2009 he becomes very bad in our home in Cairns and verbally assaulting both my boys and I. I had found out that he was aware that my eldest son had been getting molested. He turned his back on it of fear of the molester talking to the police about his drug activities. It was only when he started touching my youngest that was his biological child that he threw him out and threaten he would bury him alive. The next day when he went to work I went to the police and he was arrested. Many arguments were had about me going to the police. Then after the juvenile officer that had received all the molesters information raided our house for drugs. The thing was they then realised I had put a DVO on him. One drug squad detective said that they knew what he was doing in Cairns and he was a very big drug dealer. I was unaware of what he did. I was never told or involved.
On this night he was really aggressive and refused to stop going on about the fact that I went to the police. He slipped while drunk that he knew and let this happen. He physically assaulted me and the neighbours took me in and called the police. They found him out to it on the lounge room floor. They took him away.
He tried to fight the dvo the police placed on him. But after the third mention and me writing a report for the police he received the DVO.
I then stayed on my own but never stopped him seeing his son. He also had daily contact if not three to four times a day. I have come to realise that for 3 years and 8 months he was actually harassing my son to go and live with him.. He was confusing him. In this time he sold our family home and gave me just $25,000 he took all our furniture and personal belongings. I was forced to start again with the funds I was given. He took the remainder $85,000. He then closed our Plumbing business due to a sore back. I even said I would keep it running as we had a staff of 6 plumbers and Roofers. He resided in our other house at the beach. Whilst our other home was on the market as well. I asked to live in that but he would not let us.
I waited another 14 months for settlement and had no choice but to go to a lawyer. He still would not attend the Supreme Court which was taken the month of Feb 2011 two years after separation. In this time and another year I fought to get my assets. It ended up that the lawyers settled out of court giving me only 20% of our worth. Of course the lawyers took a big amount and I was left with cash in dribbles over that period.
CHRONOLOGICAL
Sept 2011 I discover that he is driving our son around on prescription drugs. I stop his visit that weekend and called relationships Australia
Attend Relationships Australia and they refer it to the Federal Magistrates court Cairns.
He asks for every weekend and half the holidays. It is totally ignored the fact of the prescription Drugs which was why we were there.
March 2012 next mention he agrees to every second weekend and half the holidays but refuses to let our son play a sport. Magistrate orders a court psychologist.
June 2012 Magistrate orders family report and supheonos medical, criminal and school records.
Attend family report August 2012. I arrive at meeting with our son and I was interviewed first. She asks me why I am overweight and why I had been a exotic dancer. I worked as a exotic dancer before our son was born and then opened an Adult entertainment business the year before my son was born. I also stopped dancing as well. But for some reasons the fact of my employment kept coming up it was all they could see even tho I had retired some 13 years previous. She than informed me that our son would not be going back to school as he was going to have a two hour lunch with his father. He went to lunch with his father and grandparents. When he returned she interviewed him again. His father and grandparents had told him what to say.
October 8th 2012 returned to court. The family writer had put in there I was proud to be an ex dancer and that I said I wanted to kill myself. She then told how my son had said he witnessed me calling his father a dog every day that we were together. Also that I use to throw plates, cups, knifes, chairs and buckets at his father. My son has a very bad memory and can’t remember things from day to day as he has a learning disability and cannot read or write. I thought this was strange. The school record had that our son went to school the last day of grade 7 and told the principal that he wanted to kill himself because his parents will not stop fighting. Magistrate Willis ordered that he be removed from my care immediately. I had no contact given at all.
November 2012 some 6 weeks later we returned to court where she gave me visitation from the 14th Dec to the 31st. Then she gave me only one week in January and three days being the weekend before school returned.
The week he came home he told me he was so sorry that he lied to the reporter writer that his father made him say them things. He didn’t even know why he listened to him. He wanted to come home and he was in fear of his father stopping me seeing him again till he was 18 and moving him from his school and moving him to Innisfail School so he could live with him at Kurrimine Beach. I took him to our local GP and he told the doctor what his father had made him say.
The week of the 22nd till the 25th January he was very upset he said he refused to go back. He didn’t want to leave his home his school or me. I called Docs intake office and they agreed he should have to go somewhere he did not want to go. We then went to the police station and reported that we were not leaving home or hiding. He called kids helpline and also his father. He went crazy yelling at him. He called him two more times saying the police were coming to get him. He wouldn’t let him speak. He kept saying I had done this even tho our son said he had done it. He told his father he still wanted to visit but he didn’t want to live with him. He even said you made me lie Dad.
On the Tuesday the 29th the first day the courts opened after the long weekend I filed an application in a case.
On the Wednesday the 30th I received a call from the court clerk saying I had to be in the courtroom in 1 ½ hours. I explained that our son was at school being his first day back for the year. They didn’t care they told me to collect him from school and both of us come to the court. I had a hard time getting him out of school with the order. The principle was cranky that the court did not inform him. In the end he had to call the father and get permission. When we arrived at the court we were told to go to admin were they quickly took our son away and I have never seen him again. When I went in the court room the Magistrate refused to listen. She straight away said I had only filed that day so she was not listening to the application. I had told her it was filed first thing the day before but they left it and didn’t stamp it to that day. So of course moved on to the recovery order. I was then told the trial would be the 25th February instead of the 22nd April and I was denied witnesses. I was also given no contact again. I have 9 witnesses she said there affidavits were enough.
On the 24th I was so ill with pains in my chest that I could no way walk into that courtroom with no legal representation. I was knocked back from legal aid saying it was not a winnable case. I sat down a drafted a letter that I have enclosed and had a friend deliver it personally to the court. I was taken to hospital later that day. I stayed in hospital two days having tests but they could not find a thing wrong. Just that I was under a lot of stress. I was even interviewed by the psychiatrist that stated that I had no mental problems. They sent me home to have plenty of rest
On the 25th March I was called in for finally orders. They actually told me not to come if I didn’t feel like it. I was given no visitation no contact. Only letters and cards. Seeing that our son cannot read or write this was silly. Our son was taken away from his school immediately even tho the teachers and special learning teacher had said this was not suitable to take him away from his peers. My older son that has not spoken to his stepfather since 2009 was given phone calls and visits as arranged by the father. He has to call his phone as he took our son’s phone his Facebook. Now he is forced to talk to his stepdad for nearly 20 minutes before he can get onto his brother. He even says oh did you want to talk to your brother. These orders were made till he is 18 years old. He has already told his brother he has no bedroom. He lives in the lounge/kitchen of a shed in the back garden.
In the Magistrates final orders she also told my ex to take this orders to the school the police and docs. That no one can complain about his parenting. She also said that with the help of his father when he is 18 he can look me up. But she very much thought he would not want to look me up.
I have been everywhere trying to get help I am hoping my story being printed will get me some help. Every time his brother contacts him he straight away wants to know if I am alright and were I am. His father has let him call me on 4 occasions. Once only three days after the orders. The second call I asked how he was managing to call me. He said his father couldn’t stop him. But then I received two more and one of them being the last was mother’s day. He said I love you mum wish I could see you Mum and wish I could give you a present. I have been seeing a psychologist and she did not even want to continue visits as she can find nothing wrong with me. I was told I would need extensive therapy to get over my hatred of this man. How would you get over a man that took your three homes, took your livelihood? Then came along and took your son from any contact. I have no super as that was in our real estate. I am a 48 year old woman with not a cent to my name. I have been robbed of being a mother to my son. How would I get over that? And how does my son get over not having a mother?
