The Knight in Shining Armor

The Knight in Shining Armor
Once upon a time there was a man, who fell in love with a woman (Emily). Emily had had such a hard life, growing up with child abuse, only to enter into a relationship that involved domestic violence at the tender age of twenty-one, her abuser was twenty-five, and assumed to have grown up with an abusive father.
One day she finally got out!
This man, his name is Scott, moved her and her six month old little girl in with him...Life was so perfect, they went to fine restaurants, he brought her flowers each day after work, they went on weekend vacations to all parts of the world...no more abuse, no more living in squaller for this woman and her tiny child, that was growing rapidly in this now loving home with a mother and father, where no abuse occurred...
Scott even helped her restrain the abusive ex, from mother and child, and asked her to marry him. Soon, this idyllic life was complete and so absolutely perfect.
After the restraint was permanently ordered Scott was able to adopt the baby girl, Kari, now two and give her his last name, and soon after that they had a son, Scotty Jr., life could not get any better for this family of four now.
Emily had her freedom to go where she pleased, do what she wanted, free from her former life of abuse, Scott would sometimes lie awake at night and just watch her sleep, wondering what she would have been had she been left to that monster, male perpetrator, abuser...what his little girl would have turned out like, had he not saved her from that situation.
Emily started going to her mother's off and on when Scotty was around one, staying for a week or more at a time, telling Scott that she just needed a break, which was ok with Scott, after all it was HER mother, and no one can replace family. Although there were times when Emily's mother looked at him funny, he thought maybe she did not like that he did not go to the same church or maybe that he did not make as much money as his step-father-in-law, whom was an attorney.
Scott worked harder, and at Emily's insistence moved closer to her family, he bought a larger home, he bought a better car, he bought a boat, and although it was not comparable to his step-father-in-law's it was still a prized possession, and �bling� to show off to the neighbors. Being in debt like this he worked his way up the ladder, and by the time Scotty was five, he was working sometimes sixty hours a week, rarely home, but this is what Emily wanted...
Sometimes she would get upset and tell him he worked too hard, but so often the very next day he would come home to new purchases, once to a new tennis bracelet she had bought...he felt so proud to be able to provide for his family, especially since Emily had never had such things before.
One day the carpet was swept out from under him. While in his office, a process server showed up with divorce papers, he did not understand, and thought this had to be a mistake, so he called her right away....when she answered, and realized it was him she hung up right away without saying a word.
Scott rushed home, parked on the street, and went up to the front door, it was locked! He tried his key and it did not work...He called her quickly from his cell phone, and although her car was in the drive, there was no answer. Scott dialed her mother's number, when she answered she was in a foul mood, and would not tell him anything, before hanging up she called him a jerk.
Not knowing what to do, he sat down on the top step of the deck, and was sitting there with his head in his hands, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw red, blue, and white light...raising his head up he noticed that there was two police cars now parked surrounding his car. Starting to stand up, an officer growled at him to get on the ground! Stay where he is! Do not move!
Disbelieving this was happening he took a step forward, on weak knees, and was tazed into submission, the pain going from his chest to his entire body...being shackled at his ankles, cuffed behind his back, still reeling from the shock of the tazer. Scott was not fully aware of what had actually happened until he came to his senses in the back of the police car. He tried to ask what was going on and all he got was dirty looks, and ordered to shut up.
After being strip searched, fingerprinted, and booked for the night into county jail, all he could do was sit there, he had no one to call...finally realizing that he had an attorney, he called the same attorney they had used to garner custody of Kari, the secretary told him that the attorney was not able to talk to him, and suggested he find someone new.
The next morning at arraignment, the prosecuting attorney detailed a scenario to the judge involving heinous abuse against Emily and the children, not believing they had the right man, he just sat there stunned, pleading not guilty, and begging to be allowed out of jail, the judge told him no, that he was a danger, even though Scott told him he would lose his job, lose everything, the prosecutor reminded him that he had chosen to do what he did, and now must deal with the consequences.
Scott was held on thirty thousand dollars bail.
He called his parents, and they reminded him that when they were in need, he had moved...he called his brother and sister. His brother was not available, and his sister told him that he already burned his bridges, choosing his wife over his family. He called some friends, they too told him that he had dug his own grave, they could not help him, they knew what a monster he was...they were not about to help an abuser either.
Scott called his employer and tried to pull some of his 401k...he was told that he could not do that, to read the divorce petition. No party was allowed to spend any money...neither party to the divorce was allowed to touch retirement income, or bank accounts, accept for normal living expenses and household bills.
He was served with the restraint petition while in county jail...a week later was the permanent restraint hearing, he showed up to that in handcuffs...the judge ordered the restraint permanent, he could not go within five hundred feet of his home, family, children's daycare, school, etc...
He was fired from the job he had held for ten years a week later, due to the restraint, and charges against him, his company dealt with a lot of children, and families, and they did not want any fall-back from his situation.
Scott sat in jail, and at the hearing Emily brought in witnesses to the abuse, detailing how she had told them daily, and weekly of his abuse, one lady in particular, detailed how she had been told by Emily that he would not let her have any money, that she had to beg and plead, he controlled all the assets. Several of her friends from the Domestic Violence Shelter detailed how she had told them that she suspected child sexual abuse, that they did not want to interview the children to avoid causing them pain, but that Emily told them about the atrocities that happened in their home, on a daily basis.
Scott was sentenced to time served, and when he was released, still restrained from his family, the divorce now final, she got the house, car, children, he was ordered to pay child support, imputed, based on the employment that he had prior to all of this..working now at a fast food place, and a local newspaper, living in a tenement building for now, utilizing the local food bank.
The new man in Emily's life, petitioning to adopt both children, giving Scott those nasty looks, hating him for being a �monster�.... jumping in once again, a Knight in Shining Armor, to save this poor, victim of domestic violence, at the hands of a male abuser...




The moral of the story?

Although all men are raised to be that Knight in Shining Armor, this is what is creating the epidemic of false allegations, and allowing women to get away with them, pitting man against man, removing fathers from children's lives...Our society is being preyed upon by these psycopathic women, and in order to avoid this type of scenario, we now suggest that men refrain from saving women...It is hard to suggest this, however, this seems to be the only way to stop false allegations, abuse of courts, fraudulent restraining orders, etc...and our men are sometimes at fault too for removing these fathers from children's lives, simply by being told one side of the story, and being that Knight in Shining Armor, willing to stand up to protect.

Tami Pepperman
Victim/Child Advocate