ANNEX 1: Schedule of Findings
The mother has on occasion been physically aggressive towards and assaulted the father, and reduced his self-esteem due to her unrealistic expectations regarding finances which she made very clear to him and about which she put him under considerable amounts of pressure; the father meanwhile has struggled to accept where his behaviour has fallen short of what is acceptable and has made false allegations against the mother in a desperate bid to detract from the three occasions when he has assaulted child A. In addition, the father has behaved abusively towards the mother as detailed further in these findings.
On a date in 2016, prior to the birth of the children and the parties’ marriage, the mother lunged at the father with a glass, hit him in the face, and kicked his body. In order to stop the assault, the father restrained the mother by pinning her to the floor.
On 30 April 2020, the parents had an argument during which the mother pulled the father’s hair and punched him in the face causing reddening. The father temporarily took the mother’s phone from her to prevent her from calling the police and prevented her from coming into the room where the father and child A were together. Child A was not 12 weeks old at the time, and was present during this altercation. It would have been frightening for child A and he was at risk of physical harm from being caught in the crossfire.
The father has fabricated allegations against the mother that she has physically abused child A and child B by way of defending allegations against him. The consequence of this is that father has deliberately tried to mislead the court.
On 21 March 2019, the father grabbed the mother’s wrists with force, shouted and swore at her, and insulted her intelligence.
On 9 July 2023, whilst the father was putting child A to bed, child A bit his father and the father responded by striking child A on the cheek causing him injury, pain and distress.
On 4 August 2024, whilst putting child A to bed, the father lost his temper, and bruised child A’s arm by biting it. Child A was very distressed, in pain, and screamed, “You hurt me, Daddy. You bit me.”
The father assaulted child A on 31 December 2024, causing injury (reddening of the skin) to him. This likely occurred when the father was struggling to manage challenging behaviour from child A.
Child A has called his mother stupid, likely because he has witnessed his father doing the same. The mother has also called the father degrading terms including stupid and arsehole, and this has been done in front of child A.
During a taxi ride from London Heathrow, the father was insulted when a member of the maternal family got information about his university incorrect. The father made emotionally-charged but ultimately empty threats to step outside the taxi with the maternal grandfather, or something similar, after saying he had been insulted. This incident would have been frightening and confusing for the children who were in the car at the time.
The father used emotional blackmail and manipulation against the mother by threatening to end his life when faced with defending allegations that he had harmed child A, and when faced with not having a full relationship with his children. That was emotionally abusive.
After the parties’ separation, the father stalked and tracked the mother’s movements using an app which notified him when the mother’s Tesla car was unlocked. The father told the mother that he knew when the car was unlocked so she was aware that he could monitor her movements and was doing so. The father knew this would cause her to suffer harassment, alarm and distress, and it was his intention that it do so. The father stalked, harassed and pestered the mother following their separation by accessing cameras and information from the house cameras and Tesla vehicle. This was abusive and intrusive behaviour.
The father has spoken to the mother in a derogatory tone and called her offensive names, sometimes in the presence of the children. The mother has responded by telling child A that his father is a bully.