Chief Judge Lisa B. Kemler of the City of Alexandria Jails MOTHER FOR TALKING TO HER YOUNG SON'S DOCTORS AND REPORTING FATHER'S PHYSICAL ABUSE OF HER SON

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA (June 16, 2018) -- A young mother was jailed on Friday morning for reporting physical abuse of her son by his father to the proper government authorities and for communicating with her 10-year-old son's therapist and psychiatrist.  

Hard to believe?  The court reporter transcripts reveal it all in Cases CJ 14001064 and 14001065
in Alexandria Circuit Court. These facts are beyond question.  Judge Lisa Kemler announced her reasons for sentencing Natalia Dalton to jail in open court June 15, before a court reporter.
Natalia Dalton's attorney is Jonathon Moseley of Woodbridge (703) 656-1230.  

Natalia Dalton's son has told many adults, without prompting, that his father Julio Lacayo has
physically abused him (that is in violence).  

Natalia Dalton shows the photographs of her own injuries when she says Julio Lacayo beat her when they lived together.  The courts have no interest in Natalia Dalton being beaten by the child's father in years past.

In November 2017, Natalia Dalton took her son Ethan to meet with the Magistrate for the City of Alexandria.  The 10-year-old son met alone with the Magistrate for 15 minutes, while the son told his story alone to the Magistrate.  Witnesses testified in the court case watching this.

In response, the Magistrate issued an Emergency Protective Order, ordered the child removed from the father's home, sent the police to serve the father who was heard by other witnesses screaming violently during this encounter and ordered the police to escort the son to retrieve his belongings.

The father's attorney got the case dismissed without there ever being a hearing the next day.  The father then took the son out of school early, before the end of the school day, and began to homeschool him.  So right after the Magistrate's order, the father removed the son from the presence of any adults who could learn about the abuse and report it.  The son has not been back to a regular school since the day after the Magistrate's order finding abuse. Judge Kemler ignored the father's efforts to prevent discovery of the abuse by any adults and ignored Laurie Best's reports of the abuse made only about a month ago after supervised visits by an adult monitor were ordered.  After the father testified to the sons' need for structure, he has home-schooled the son, obviously to prevent discovery of the abuse, certainly not to provide the structure he claims the child thrives on.

A month ago, a supervised visitation "monitor" Laurie Best appointed by Judge Kemler also reported the son's account of physical abuse to Child Protective Service.  Laurie Best testified that in the trial (on the transcript) that what the son volunteered to her triggered her legal mandatory reporting requirements.

Judge Kemler refused to call the son to speak for himself in the court hearing.  The father's attorney objected to allowing the son to be interviewed in chambers by Judge Kemler or to testify.  The only judicial officer to hear the son's story found a credible threat of physical abuse by the father and ordered the son out of the father's home.  Again this is all in the transcript.

Yet Judge Kemler announced in her official decision that she was punishing the mother for making a report of the son's accounts of abuse to authorities.

Furthermore, Natalia Dalton repeatedly warned her son's psychiatrist that the son was saying that the medication was causing alarming side effects, that her son had been placed on medication without proper preliminary testing, and that the son was reporting that the medication was interfering with his functioning, making him irritable, forgetful, disoriented, and feeling weird.

In the court case, Natalia Dalton was accused and punished for warning the son's prescribing psychiatrist of the adverse side effects of the medication.  

Throughout, the father's dishonest attorney offered a fairy tale that the son's reports of his problems were originating with the mother rather than being relayed by the mother from the son's own reports.

The only witnesses to conversations between the mother and her son were the mother and the son.  The father brought the accusations but objected to having the son testify or be interviewed in chambers.  Judge Kemler declined to hear from the son.

Natalia Dalton strongly and flatly denied ever sharing any of these concerns with her son, but only among the adults treating him.  There was absolutely no evidence or testimony to the contrary, nor was there ever going to be. The father brought a frivolous and sanctionable proceeding which he and his attorney knew at the time would never be supported by any evidence.  The mother's uncontradicted evidence stands fully established and "the law of the case." The problems were reported by the son himself, and the mother merely tried to give the son voice to those who needed to know.

About five other adults came to court to testify that the son also volunteered the same reports to them, but Judge Kemler would not allow them to testify to what the son said as being hearsay.

Natalia Dalton is raising money to pay for the transcripts.  Yesterday, her supporters set up a request for assistance at http://www.NataliaMom.com

On a small wage, Natalia Dalton is struggling to pay for the roughly $5,000 dollars in court reporter fees for the transcripts.

Chief Judge Lisa B. Kemler