Trigger warning: This article contains sensitive material relating to domestic abuse and child sexual abuse. If you or a loved one are in a crisis, you can view a number of resources for Protective Parents and find an expert who is ready to listen.
To many, Maralee McLean’s story is beyond belief.
It began when the Denver mom said she noticed her daughter’s odd behavior after a visit with her father, McLean’s ex-husband. At 2-and-a-half years old, McLean said her daughter began signaling with words and actions that she’d been inappropriately touched, but when McLean reported this to the courts, she found herself in a custody battle — a battle she’d eventually lose, making her ex-husband the sole caretaker of their daughter.
While McLean’s story may be beyond belief to many, it is all too familiar to the hundreds of women in the Protective Mothers Alliance, who are fighting — or have fought — for custody of their child so the child doesn’t end up in the hands of their abuser. McLean told A Plus such cases are happening in epidemic numbers in the U.S. and internationally. [Read Full Article]
