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Ex-convict harassed single mom for over 2 years
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Posted on Nov 30 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
An ex-convict who repeatedly ignored a court order to stay away from a single working mother was found in contempt of court and was sentenced to four months in prison.
In a written order issued Monday, Superior Court associate judge David Wiseman said the undisputed findings show that Robert Jake Palacios violated court orders when he harassed and threatened the victim for more than two years.
Wiseman said that Palacios must be seriously deterred and restrained from any further violations of the ongoing court’s order of protection.
The court issued the order of protection for the victim on April 20, 2011, directing Palacios to stay away from the victim, a former girlfriend, and stop disturbing her peace and that of her 4-year-old son.
Despite this, Palacios, on several occasions, called the victim and harassed her through text messages. Some of the messages contained threats to the victim’s life and safety. Palacios told the victim in one or more of these communications that he did not care about the court’s order of protection.
Wiseman said that, based on the findings, he finds Palacios violating the court’s order of protection, in particular, by disturbing the petitioner’s peace and threatening her on several occasions.
Wiseman said the record in this family court case as well as in the prior family court matter show a continuing pattern of egregious conducted by Palacios toward the victim, which includes threats to kill her.
The judge said that Palacios threw a rock at her car in 2010, breaking her windshield, and repeatedly called her place of work, violating the court’s order of protection.
Wiseman said Palacios placed the victim in such fear of him that she had to be escorted from the courtroom after a hearing as he was outside and was making threatening gestures at her.
Wiseman said that Palacios has also shown disrespect for the court’s orders as he has had multiple bench warrants for failing to appear in court when ordered to do so in this case as well as in prior cases.
