(Oakland County, Michigan, July 2015) : Judge Lisa Gorcyca ordered 3 siblings ages 14,10 and 9 to have a “healthy relationship” with their allegedly abusive father, and after they failed to comply, the children were taken from their home and forcibly imprisoned in a juvenile detention facility.
According to court records, one of the children claimed that he does not want to visit his father, “Because he is violent and I saw him hit my mom.” Judge Gorcyca dismissed the allegations, stating that she believes the boy is being “brainwashed“. Judge Gorcyca went to so far to compare the children to Charles Manson and his (brainwashed) cult. Incredibly, before she became a judge, Gorcyca worked in the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office as chief of the Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Units.
When the children refused to visit their father, Judge Gorcyca ordered that they be held at Oakland County’s Children’s Village Juvenile Detention Facility until age 18, or until they agree to visits with their father. Mother, Maya Tsimhoni, is not allowed to visit the children.
The biological father is in Israel for work, and is not expected to return to the U.S. for several weeks. The father does have the ability to request that the children be released. As of yet, there has been no public comment.
Maya Tsimhoni attempted to appeal but had to do so in front of Judge Gorcyca, and her request was denied. A follow up hearing is scheduled for September.
(North Huntingdon, PA, 1998) A similar situation happened in the Greico case – where 3 brothers refused to visit their biological father claiming that he is abusive, and scares them. Common Pleas Judge John J. Driscoll forced the children to visit their father under the guise of “threat therapy” – meaning that if they did not comply, their mother would be thrown in jail.
Father, Louis Greico, hired the notorious Dr. Richard Gardner as his expert witness in the custody case. Dr. Gardner is the creator of the widely discredited “parental alienation syndrome”. Dr. Gardner’s support of pedophilia and his unconventional methods on how to treat children in custody disputes has come under fire by medical, legal, and other experts who claim Gardner’s theories are detrimental to domestic violence survivors, are scientifically unproven and are biased against women. Despite this, the judge found the allegations of the brothers to be without merit, and heavily relied on Dr. Gardner’s testimony and unproven theories stating the boys were being “brainwashed” and needed an aggressive treatment called “threat therapy”.
The boys complied with the visits, under duress. After a year of “threat therapy”, the children’s relationship with their father had not improved; and their emotional state was growing worse. Karen Scott, mother, attempted to change the court order, which was denied. On the night of his death, Nathan searched the house for the recent court order, the last words he read were a sentence from a judge who was forcing him to visit the father he feared.
The Greico case is a cautionary tale, in which the aggressive actions of family court judges to reunite children, at any cost, has proven to have a devastating, even fatal, effect on children.
— EJ Perth
Sources:
The Grieco Case (Pittsburgh Post Gazette): Casualties of a Custody War
Maya Tsimhoni story (My Fox Detroit) Judge orders kids held in juvenile center after refusing to see dad
A Call to Action ~ Together We Are Stronger (C2A) 
** UPDATE **
Oakland County Family Court Judge Lisa Gorcyca has lifted the contempt of court ruling and released all three children go to summer camp, where programs typically last 2 weeks. No word on what will happen to the children when summer camp ends.
Mother, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, denies that she has brainwashed her children to hate their father, as the father claims (now supported by Judge Gorcyca). The children are refusing any contact with their father, even after being detained in a juvenile detention facility. The oldest boy respectfully addressed Judge Gorcyca, stating that he apologizes “for whatever I did to you” and went on to say, ” But I do not apologize for — for not talking to him (the father) because I have a reason for that and that’s because he’s violent and he — I saw him hit my mom and I’m not gonna talk to him.”
The father is now living in Israel, and is expected to file for sole custody of the children. It is very clear that Judge Gorcyca has already made up her mind about what is happening in this case, and has a strong opinion against the mother — she is no longer neutral, and I have to wonder if a fair trial is even possible.
Source: “Judge releases ‘jailed’ kids, sends them to summer camp” by John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 7/10/2015: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/oakland/2015/07/10/jailed-kids/29964437/
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** UPDATE **
Omer Tsimhoni, living in Israel, is filing for sole custody of all 3 children ages 9. 10. and 14. Omer Tsimhoni is also asking that the mother, Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni, submit to a psychological evaluation and that all parenting time be stopped until a mental health professional says it is appropriate.
Maya Eibschitz-Tsimhoni denies the allegations made against her, and says, ““The only thing I always said to the court is that love comes with love. You can’t terrorize someone to love. You can’t force somebody to love.”
“Dad seeks custody of kids in Oakland Co. case” by Gina Damron and Bill Laitner, Detroit Free Press, 7/16/2015: http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/2015/07/16/dad-seeks-custody-kids/30262651/
This is certainly a complicated case but what is emerging is a common pattern voiced by parents raising concerns about systemic failures, and injustice, in family court.
The pattern includes:
1) A fit, loving parent loses custody (known as the “protective parent”) and/or parenting time, and an unfit or abusive parent is awarded custody and/or primary care and control of the child
2) When the protective parent’s background cannot be attacked on any reasonable grounds to justify loss of custody and/or parenting time, the parent’s mental health is attacked.
3) A court ordered psych eval is ordered by a professional who has a close relationship to the players in the court – judges, lawyers, evaluators, GALs, etc — they may also share a social or professional connection. The professional may also be someone who is frequently called by the court to for evaluations. In many cases, a parent is not allowed to freely chose their provider, and may be punished for seeking a second opinion. Or if a parent does get a second opinion, the mental health professional they chose is dismissed because the court does not take their report seriously, but rather, views the report as being made by a mentally ill parent who has manufactured evidence or just paid an expert to say what they want.
4) The parent is labelled with a mental health diagnosis that is not valid or real. Alternately, the diagnosis given to the parent does not match credible, medical and scientific methods to reach such a conclusion. Vague diagnosis that could mean anything are commonly given including: Parental Alienation Syndrome, Malicious Mom Syndrome, Personality Disorder, Anxiety or generically being labelled mentally ill, unfit or causing distress to the children.
5) While being labelled so severely mentally ill that they cannot have custody of their own child, that same parent is otherwise a productive, law abiding citizen. The alleged mental illness does not manifest in any other part of their life. Protective parents commonly raise other children, hold a steady job, maintain a stable home, and socialize — like any other person. Their attempts to get the diagnosis removed often result in loss of custody, visitation and parental rights… because the Court will view their attempts to clear their name as a sign that they are “not cured”. Fit, competent parents – many who are the victims of domestic violence – are being forced into mental health treatment, and even drugged, for no valid reason. While the abusive, unfit parent does not receive any professional help, and is not mandated to get help by the Court; the standards and expectations for both parents a vastly different. Clearly, the Court has chosen a winner and a loser.
6) The allegations and concerns of abuse, and child mistreatment are ignored, minimized or dismissed as being a product of the protective parent’s alleged “mental illness”. A credible professional or expert in domestic violence, and child abuse, is not called by the Court. Or, the Court will handpick their own “domestic violence” expert that part of their own inner circle, and will follow the direction of the Court rather than investigate findings. If a protective parent seeks such an expert, their testimony is usually dismissed as being “not credible” or that the protective parent has manipulated the expert.
7) Placed in the care and custody of an abusive or unfit parent, the child is traumatized and put at serious risk of harm. There are many reports of children continuing to be abused. Some children attempt to run away. Others engage in self-harming behavior, or suicide. Even reports to CPS and reports by others go ignored. Children are not believed if they self-disclose abuse.
8) Once labelled with mental illness or engaging in parent alienation, it is virtually impossible to clear your name or regain custody of your child.
9) Litigation drags on for years — with no real resolution. Other parents give up, and often lose contact with the child. These parents report that they feel abused, traumatized, and victimized by the family court.
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RE: “You know you are absolutely pathetic when you can only positive comments you can get are from your own staff employees that you hired like Allison!”
N.Walsh there are no staff employees on this blog. “A Call to Action” is comprised of parents involved in family court litigation who are working towards reform in the family court and GAL program. All of our work and efforts are on a volunteer basis and are motivated by genuine love for our children, and well as a desire to see improvements in family court that benefit all families (and children).
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