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You are here: Home / Media Advocacy / Kids of Divorce Speak Out / Rebecca, Family Court Survivor

Rebecca, Family Court Survivor

BeccaMy name is Rebecca and I was born and raised in Sacramento, California. When I was a young child, my biological father left and abandoned me for seven years. Years later my mom and my step-father got married and it felt that our family was finally complete. When I was 12 years old, we decided on my being adopted by my step-father. We went to the Sacramento Family Court and tried to file for a step-parent adoption. Unfortunately, my biological father was informed of our attempts and took the opportunity to harass us. I had 12 court-appointed therapists throughout three years, many of whom were abusive, due to a custody battle that could have been avoided. Many of the therapists threatened that I would never see my family again if I didn’t cooperate in the reunification or supervised visitation. One therapist grabbed my wrist, attempted to pull me into a small room with my biological father, and after I refused, she threatened to charge me at 13 years of age with contempt if I didn’t do exactly what she told me to do.

After three years of abuse from my biological father, the family courts of California, and the 12 court-appointed therapists, my Mom finally won full custody of me. After so many years of traumatic experiences, I decided to focus strictly on my extracurricular activities, such as testifying at a California Commission on the Status of Women hearing; graduating as a valedictory scholar and winning an academic scholarship; volunteering over 700 hours in a convalescent hospital, a museum, and many other places; and being part of a competitive NASA program.

Fam pic 1After six years of waiting to be adopted, my stepfather and I filed for an adult-adoption on my 18th birthday, so I am now officially free from court harassment. I am currently attending college and working toward a degree in aerospace engineering, and I continue to share my experiences to raise awareness of the injustice and abuse of power being exercised by the family courts of California and their delegates.

Click Here to Read Rebecca’s California Commission on the Status of Women (CCSW) Testimony (August 12, 2010)

See Articles Below for more on this Therapist:

November 03, 2011 – Complaints against family court specialist go back years – Capitol Weekly

April 21, 2011 – AG’s office targets Sacramento family court mediator – Capitol Weekly

April 07, 2011 – Family Court Therapist Janelle Burrill Charged with Misconduct by Attorney General’s Office – SF Weekly

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  • Kids of Divorce Speak Out
    • Suraj, Family Court Survivor
    • Rebecca, Family Court Survivor
    • Jennifer Collins, Executive Director of the Courageous Kids Network
    • Emily Gallup, MFT
    • Dr. Joyanna Silberg
    • Judge Sol Gothard

Would You Like to Share Your Story With Us?

If you are a child or adult survivor of the divorce courts and would like to share your story online or with the news media, please contact us at info@centerforjudicialexcellence.org. Any funders who are interested in supporting the expansion of this project are also encouraged to contact Kathleen Russell at this same email address. Thank you for your interest. Together, we can fix it!

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