Woman shares personal story of abuse, aftermath PFA legal process 'isn't fair,' she says
Six women seeking protection from abuse (PFA) orders were called together and placed in a small room in the county courthouse to await their fate.
Like the woman who has agreed to share her story, they suffered mental and physical abuse and even death threats from men who claimed to love them.
Outside the door were the men they feared; this day the men were allowed to sit wherever they wanted with their attorneys in the green-carpeted Kiester Commons. Their mere presence kept five of the women from going before the judge.
“Every girl had the same reaction,” said one domestic violence victim who referred to herself as Jane.
“When it came your turn to go to court, we all said, 'I don't want to see him.'”
The Eagle is protecting Jane's identity, so she can share her experience on that day in autumn 2018.
There were 379 PFA cases filed in Butler County in 2018, according to a Victims Outreach Intervention Center (VOICe) legal advocate. Jane's was one of them.
When the PFA safeguards don't work, the situation can turn tragic. Mary Jo Kornick, 62, of Freeport was shot to death May 11 allegedly by her estranged boyfriend, Nicholas Domek III, 72, as she was leaving work in Buffalo Township.
Most PFA violations don't make the front page of the newspaper.
“Guns will kill you, but fists and feet and hands can mess you up too,” Jane said.
'You feel like the size of an ant'
Jane is an educated and employed woman who found herself in an abusive relationship.
“It can happen to any woman in any walk of life,” Jane said. “You stay because they have manipulated you so much.”
She endured belittling and verbal abuse that escalated into beatings and threats to her life. She hid the bruises, made excuses for her partner, and finally decided to make a break for “freedom.”
“To keep him from me, I thought it would be a good idea to file a PFA,” said Jane, who left with only her clothes and what she could fit into her car.
The journey took her through the county domestic relations office and VOICe. She said she found supportive staff members. She filled out the paperwork — three examples, three dates.
“It's when you have to go to court that it all changes,” Jane said. “The system is failing the women.”
Jane met her legal representative from VOICe the day she was summoned by letter to the courthouse.
“We were like cattle,” Jane said.
Each woman was called up in turn and asked to tell how she was abused to the VOICe lawyer.
“We deserve to have our story told to our attorney in confidence,” Jane said. “You hold back in that room. You want to look strong.”
Jane, like the other women and their friends and family in the room, couldn't help but overhear the confidences of others and felt their pain and sorrow. When she told her story, she said she felt embarrassed.
“You feel like the size of an ant,” she said.
'What if there is not a next time?'
Her estranged fiancé showed up with a high-priced lawyer from Pittsburgh who sent someone in to see if Jane was there.
Opening the door to the courthouse room had a chilling effect on the women. Jane said they felt exposed — the men they feared were out there.
After a 15 to 20 minute interview with her, Jane's appointed attorney began bargaining with the private attorney, one she told Jane was extremely expensive, in the ornate hallway of the courthouse's second floor.
A deal would keep Jane's case from going before Judge Timothy McCune and an open courtroom.
Jane asked for a PFA for a year, hoping to relocate away from the man she said slammed her face into a door.
“If you go in front of the judge, you have to see this person,” Jane said.
In the hallway, Jane's request was met with a laugh, she was told. “You're messing with his life and he has to work for a living,” was the statement relayed to her.
Jane then asked for six months. There were photographs documenting her injuries, she said.
Her lawyer came back and urged her to settle for three months and, the next time they filed, she said they would get the year.
“What if there is not a next time?” Jane asked.
Jane recalled that the only woman who went before the judge that day had children.
“She told us, 'I have to protect my children,'” Jane said.
'I still have moments when I don't feel safe'
“I settled. I was too scared to be in the same room with him,” Jane said.
Did the PFA covering those three months make her feel safe?
“Absolutely not. Was I going to hold a piece of paper in front of him. Would that have stopped him?” she asked.
Jane must live every day with the knowledge that the man who hurt her and threatened to kill her is out there.
“I still have moments when I don't feel safe,” Jane said.
She has worked to rebuild her life. She has found a place to live, refurnished it.
But she had to leave a lot behind — friends, possessions, sentimental items, even her pet.
She misses her pet, but said the law considers pets chattel, movable personal property. She had to leave without the animal and now has no legal claim to it.
“At night, when I would cry, that is who I would hold onto,” she said.
Like many domestic violence victims, she suffers from the trauma of the experience. She has sought counseling.
“It made me different,” she said, remembering herself has an outgoing, trusting person.
Jane said she hopes to help other women by speaking out about the PFA process and urges reforms.
An important change would be having attorneys meet one-on-one with abuse victims who can then speak freely and have the time to deal with some overwhelming emotions, she said.
“We need to speak to our attorneys in private,” Jane said.
The interaction would also allow the attorneys to be more prepared, she said.
“I should have just as good representation,” she said.
And Jane would have liked her day in court.
“You should be separated,” she said, adding that even a look from an abuser is enough to silence his victim.
“This isn't fair,” Jane said. “I didn't do anything.”
