When your baby is born, they become the center of your life. As a parent, you are committed to providing a safe and loving home for your child or children. You want them to have all the attention, support, and resources needed to grow and thrive. There is nothing you wouldn't do to ensure them a happy, healthy life. Unfortunately, your best intentions cannot always protect your kids. The world is full of unexpected threats, including those that arise when you least expect them and from the people closest to your heart.
Too often, a parent finds themselves in an intimate relationship with a dangerous abuser. There is no greater betrayal than learning that your partner, spouse, co-parent, or another household member can and will hurt you or your child. As a victim of domestic violence, you must take the steps necessary to find safety. The stakes are even higher when you have a child who may be witnessing or experiencing the violence, manipulation, and mistreatment that you are suffering.
At the Lento Law Firm, we help protect parents and children from physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. We can develop a comprehensive legal protection strategy, including the preparation and submission of legal documents. We can partner with you, advocating on your behalf and furthering your and your child's best interests.
Your safety and peace of mind is our priority. Contact the Lento Law Firm Family Law Team at 888-535-3686 or complete an online consultation form to discuss your case with our experienced attorneys.
Child Abuse in New Jersey
Multiple New Jersey statutes identify conduct that may be considered child abuse, including:
- Abuse, abandonment, cruelty, or neglect of a child.
- Endangering the welfare of a child.
- Sexual abuse of a child.
These statutes and others create the framework for investigating and prosecuting child abuse in New Jersey. If you are a victim of domestic abuse and believe your child or children may be suffering as well, you can take steps to protect yourself and your loved ones. The Lento Law Firm can help ensure that your legal protection strategies include your loved ones.
Abuse of a Child
New Jersey's definition of abuse of a child is far-ranging and includes:
- Managing the custody of a child in a manner contrary to law.
- Employing a child or permitting the employment of a child in a manner that endangers the child's health, safety, or morals.
- Using profane, indecent, or obscene language regularly and within earshot of the child.
- Acting in an indecent, immoral, or unlawful manner that may debauch or endanger the child's morals.
- Permitting or allowing any person to perform an indecent, immoral, or unlawful act, in the presence of a child, that may debauch or endanger the child's morals.
- Using uncalled-for physical restraint on a child when their behavior is not harmful to themselves, other people, or property.
- Depriving a child of emotional or social support by isolating them from ordinary social contact.
New Jersey's broad definition of abuse of a child holds adults accountable for conduct that exploits or undermines the physical, emotional, social, and moral development of children. If you believe that your child has been or is at risk of being abused, contact the Lento Law Firm.
Abandonment of a Child
Any person with custody of a child has a responsibility to be a careful steward of that child's mental and physical health, moral development, and personal safety. The failure to provide such basic care may lead to allegations of abandonment if the custodial adult fails to adequately provide for the child's welfare by:
- Willfully forsaking the child.
- Failing to care for a child by exposing them to physical or moral risk without proper and sufficient protection.
- Failing to care for a child to such an extent that others must assume the care, custody, and control of the child even though they are not legally obligated to do so.
Parents and other adults are obligated to provide material support and guidance to the children in their custody. The failure to provide minimum care for a child can constitute child abuse in New Jersey. If you believe your child has been abandoned, contact the Lento Law Firm Family Law Team to discuss your options and next steps.
Cruelty
In New Jersey, the definition of cruelty includes conduct or inaction that unnecessarily inflicts pain on a child, such as:
- The infliction of unnecessarily severe physical punishment or other suffering or pain in a child.
- The habitual torment of a child.
- The infliction of unnecessary pain and suffering, whether mental or physical, on a child by willful omission or deliberate action.
- The injuring of the health or physical or moral well-being of a child by exposing the child to unnecessary hardship, fatigue, or mental or physical stress.
Importantly, child abuse is not limited to physical harm done to a child. Child abuse can encompass emotional abuse and mental suffering, including the exposure of a child to domestic violence in their home.
If you are concerned that your child has been exposed to cruelty at the hands of your abuser, you must take immediate action to protect yourself and your family. The Family Law Team can develop the legal strategies necessary to prevent or limit your child's interaction with any adult who exposes them to mental or emotional torment.
Neglect of a Child
A person with custody or control of a child can be found to have neglected the child if they:
- Willfully fail to provide the child with proper and sufficient food, clothing, maintenance, education, medical care, and housing.
- Fail to perform or fail to allow any action necessary for the child's physical or moral well-being.
- Allow the inappropriate placement of a child in an institution to continue despite knowing the placement has and will continue to harm the child's mental or physical well-being.
Neglect is the failure to adequately provide for the basic needs of a child, thereby jeopardizing their physical, emotional, or moral health. If you believe your child or children are being neglected, the Lento Law Firm Family Law Team can help.
Endangering the Welfare of a Child and Child Sexual Abuse
New Jersey's definition of endangering the welfare of a child is broad. It explicitly includes prohibitions on the sexual exploitation of children.
Additionally, New Jersey identifies multiple child sexual abuse offenses, ranging from sexual assault to lewdness, which will constitute child abuse if the crime is committed against a child. If you believe your child may have been sexually exploited or abused, contact the Lento Law Firm. Our experienced family law attorneys can help you develop a strategy to protect your child and pursue justice on their behalf.
Domestic Violence Restraining Orders in New Jersey
Unfortunately, child abuse and domestic violence are often experienced within the same home. For victims of domestic violence, one critical legal tool to improve safety is a restraining order (RO) for criminal trespass. In New Jersey, an RO may be granted if your current or former spouse, someone you are dating, a household member, or someone with whom you share a child has committed predictive acts of violence. Predictive acts of violence include threats, stalking, harassment, kidnapping, burglary, robbery, cyber harassment, and sexual assault.
In New Jersey, there are two types of domestic violence ROs:
- A temporary restraining order (TRO): Granted for up to 10 days, a TRO is an emergency measure intended to provide immediate protection to a victim of domestic abuse until a final hearing can be held. A TRO may be granted ex parte, meaning without the involvement of the accused abuser.
- A final restraining order (FRO): A FRO is granted by a judge after conducting a final hearing. The accused abuser will receive notice of and may attend the final hearing.
ROs can provide important relief to victims of domestic violence, allowing them the safety to heal and plan for the future. The Lento Law Firm Family Law Team can be your trusted partner before, during, and after RO hearings.
Including Your Child or Children in the Restraining Order
If you are applying for an RO, you may request that your child or children be included in the order. The RO will supersede preexisting custody agreements and may limit or prohibit the abuser from taking custody of or visiting the child.
By asking the court to include your child in the RO, you are taking critical legal steps in protecting your child or children from coming into additional contact with your abuser. Not only are you protecting your child, but you are demonstrating that their safety is your priority. Through your efforts to protect your child, you demonstrate that their physical and emotional needs are of paramount importance.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help?
The Lento Law Firm Family Law Team can help you navigate the RO application and hearing process. Whether you are considering an initial application for a temporary restraining order, preparing for the final hearing on the final restraining order, or seeking to add your child to the order, our experienced attorneys can help navigate the entire process by:
- Answering your questions about the RO application and hearing processes, as well as providing information about the enforcement of ROs.
- Explaining the importance of including your child or children in the court's order and the potential impact of the order on child custody agreements.
- Preparing and submitting legal documents in support of your RO your application.
- Advocating for the issuance of the RO and the inclusion of your children before the court, consistent with New Jersey law, legal precedents, and the rules of procedure.
- Representing you in all court hearings, conferences, and proceedings to help ensure that the judge understands that your and your child's safety depends on the issuance and enforcement of an RO.
- Ensuring you have the knowledge and resources necessary to take quick action if your abuser violates the RO.
Although domestic violence ROs are unfortunately common, they are not available to victims in all abusive situations. It may be necessary to consider what other types of protection orders may be available to you if your abuser is not a current or former spouse, co-parent, household member, or person you have dated. Depending on the circumstances, you may be eligible for a sexual assault RO or a RO from a criminal court. The Lento Law Firm Family Law Team is committed to pursuing all available options to protect you and your child.
At the Lento Law Firm, we want you to be an informed participant in developing and executing your legal protection strategy. Your and your family's safety is our priority. We are a team of legal professionals committed to using the law to protect you and your children from domestic violence and child abuse.
The New Jersey legal system is no place for the inexperienced. The stakes in domestic violence and child abuse cases are too high. Let the experienced attorneys with Lento Law Firm develop a comprehensive legal protection strategy on your behalf. Whether you need to understand your options or are ready to apply for an RO, our experienced attorneys will fight on your behalf.
You Are Not Alone
Domestic violence leaves its victims feeling isolated, vulnerable, and uncertain of the future. You don't have to feel that way forever. You and your children can be safe again, and the Lento Law Firm can help.
Our experienced attorneys know how the New Jersey court system works, and we know how to use the state's laws and judicial systems to protect you and your children from additional violence and abuse. When you partner with the Family Law Team, you are building a thriving future for yourself and your family.
To discuss your case with the Family Law Team, call the Lento Law Firm offices at 888-535-3686 or contact us online.