Desmond v. Desmond

William Desmond (plaintiff) and Jane Desmond (defendant) married three years after having their first child together. The Desmonds had a second child a few years after marrying. Throughout the marriage, William was severely abusive toward Jane and, to a lesser extent, the children. William also engaged in heavy drug use throughout the marriage and, on at least one occasion, offered drugs to the Desmonds’ daughter. In 1985, Jane left New York with the children and took refuge in Virginia. Jane did not disclose to William where she and the children were living for two months. William then petitioned the court for custody over the children on the ground that Jane had unilaterally left with the children and kept them from him. The court held a hearing on the matter. The court found that Jane had failed to communicate with William about the children, to encourage the children to have any contact with William, and to adequately respond to William’s drug use for the safety of the children. However, the court also found that Jane had suffered extreme abuse, which had negatively impacted the children, and had moved to Virginia to seek refuge from William’s abuse. The court then considered whether a parent who has unilaterally moved with the children out of the jurisdiction, thereby denying the other parent access to the children, may be penalized in the custody determination.