MEETING - Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County

personal safety
meeting the need:
• Legal Aid receives 15-20 calls per
week from people seeking legal
advice on domestic violence issues
• Every week 3 to 5 new clients
receive legal help relating to
domestic violence
• To reach more people in need,
Legal Aid partners with Community
Overcoming Relationship Abuse
(CORA) and Bay Area Legal Aid to
train and mentor pro bono attorneys
• As of October 2011, Legal Aid
has conducted 8 educational
presentations at local high schools,
community agencies, and youth
organizations on domestic violence
and legal issues affecting pregnant
or parenting teens
When Mia was 14 years old, Chad, an adult man whose mother
worked in her high school’s office, convinced Mia to date him.
Very soon Mia was pregnant. During her pregnancy, Chad
began abusing and raping her, telling her he had gang connections and
would have Mia and her parents killed if she told anyone about the abuse.
He also threatened he could have Mia and her entire family deported
whenever he wished. Mia was terrified. She hid her injuries from her
parents and remained silent. When Chad came to the hospital after her
daughter’s birth, he slapped Mia in the face. Mia knew she had to protect
her baby and finally told her parents about the abuse. Although Mia’s parents
were afraid to go to the police, they did. With their encouragement, Mia
told the police about the abuse and threats and made a “pretext call” to
her abuser so the police could record his admissions. During the phone
call, Chad told Mia he would kill her parents if she went to the police.
The police issued an emergency protective order and referred Mia and
her parents to a temporary restraining order clinic. The clinic helped Mia
get a temporary restraining order and referred her to Legal Aid’s Teen
Parents’ Project.
For over a year, Mia’s Legal Aid attorney made multiple court appearances,
while Mia’s abuser continued to violate the temporary restraining order
and fight the permanent restraining order request. During the court
appearances, Chad lied in court, saying Mia was hurting the baby, and
he posted derogatory comments about Mia on her Facebook page. To
keep Mia safe and protect her from further abuse, the attorney helped
Mia transfer to a different high school.
Finally, after a year, Mia’s abuser pled no contest to felony statutory rape
and witness tampering. He is now in jail. The family court issued a threeyear
restraining order protecting Mia, her daughter and her parents from
her abuser and gave Mia sole custody of her daughter. In addition, the
attorney helped Mia file for a U VISA for herself and her parents. The US
Citizenship and Immigration Services approved Mia’s request and now
Mia’s family is together and safe and Mia is a junior in high school planning
to attend college.
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