No Way Out But One - The Holly Collins Story

Holly Collins – The REAL Story is Released!

Garland Waller has produced an amazing short documentary about what REALLY happened in our case. Her web site No Way Out But One and the original documentary can be found at: http://www.nowayoutbutone.com/

The web site for the powerful new documentary film No Way Out But One tells the remarkable story of one woman's effort to save her children from a life of abuse.

In 1994, Holly Collins ‘kidnapped’ her children and went on the run. An international fugitive who was wanted by the FBI, she eventually became the first American to ever be granted asylum by the government of the Netherlands, based on claims of domestic violence.

Holly Collins' story is unique, but her struggle is a representative symbol for the thousands of women who must deal with the maddening injustices of a family court system that sentences an estimated 58,000 children a year to live with or visit with their abusers.

The web site has the 13 minute short version of the film. Work is now underway to do additional filming and to expand it to a feature length film. The site also has helpful links to a wide variety of resources for those who may find themselves in a similar custody crisis.

Take a look, let us know what you think. If the link above does not work, just copy and paste this address into your browser: http://nowayoutbutone.com/

Why do Battered Women Stay? - The Holly Collins Story

A few months after Holly Collins turned 22 years old she opened the front door of her family home in St Louis Park, Minnesota to Hennepin County Child Protection investigators. They made it known that they were aware of her husband’s abuse to her and her children, specifically citing a recent fracture to her little boy’s skull. This young mother was warned that if she didn’t flee immediately with her children and file for an Order For Protection her children would be removed from her care as well and there would be a procedure of Failure To Protect charges filed against her. This is one way to force a battered woman to leave her abuser and protect her children. One may think it is a bit harsh to threaten an abuse victim with criminal charges but perhaps necessary to protect her and her children.

It is incomprehensible that as a result of the Order For Protection, which was granted and forbade Mark Collins from abusing his wife and children, the father was simultaneously granted unsupervised visitation with the very children he abused. This girl, barely a woman couldn’t understand the ramifications of the family court system. Holly Collins sought out the Child Protection Investigators who forced her to take her children away from their abusive father and went directly to the Child Protection office in a panic begging them to protect her children. “This is why I stayed” She wept “At least I could protect the children MOST of the time. Now my children have to go alone with him and there is no one there to protect them.” The child protection desk agent was sympathetic but explained that once this battered woman took actions to protect her children and left her abuser the case was then transferred from Juvenile Court to Family Court and it was her duty as a mother to get the family court judge to protect her children.

In the meantime Holly’s young children would return from court ordered visitations battered and bruised. Holly’s little boy was treated by their pediatrician for injuries sustained from his father‘s abuse. The doctor’s report documents the bruises to the young lad and clearly states “Mother will be alert for abuse potential situation.” For 5 more years Holly Collins was alert and vigilant to protect her children but time after time and one court hearing after another Mark Collins somehow managed to convince the judge that Holly was trying to “Alienate” him from his children’s lives. Eventually a family court judge instructed Holly to take the children to the Boston Children’s Hospital to be evaluated by the Child Abuse Trauma Team and he simultaneously ordered a custody evaluation. Both Dr. Eli Newberger and the entire investigative team at the Boston Children’s Hospital found that the children and their mother were severely abused by the father. Back in Hennepin County the Family Court Investigator also confirmed domestic violence but conceded that Holly’s fear of her husband was although unwittingly was indeed interfering in the children’s relationship with their father. And just like that custody was reversed to the very man who terrorized, beat and battered this woman and her children.

Holly eventually fled the country with her children and was the first American citizen granted asylum in the Netherlands. After 14 years in hiding she was found by the FBI. After a lengthy investigation All international and domestic kidnapping charges were dismissed. When questioned by reporters in the lobby of the Minneapolis Court House Holly Collins responded that the biggest mistake she ever made was leaving her abuser.

Is this really the message we want to send to abuse victims?

written by Jennifer Collins

You Are Not Alone - Courageous Kids Network

COURAGEOUS KIDS NETWORK
http://www.courageouskids.net/

Jennifer Collins - Courageous Kids Network

COURAGEOUS KIDS NETWORK
http://www.courageouskids.net/

"We are proud to announce that Jennifer Collins, the amazing advocate for children caught in custody scandal cases, has officially taken over the Courageous Kids Network. Jennifer will move this group to levels we never dreamed of. Congratulations, Jennifer!"

Court Appointed Child Abuse is Exposed

http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-03-02/news/family-court-parental-alienation-syndrome-richard-gardner-pedophilia-domestic-violence-child-abuse-judges-divorce/

Finally a reporter who dares to expose Family Courts Helping Pedophiles & Batterers Get Child Custody.

Dear Mr. Jamison,

My name is Jennifer Collins. My brothers and I escaped the American family court crisis by fleeing to Europe with our mother in 1994. We have been living in exile for almost 17 years. My little brother is just about to turn 18 years old this month and we are making preparations to return home to the United States.

My father severely abused me, my brother and even our mother in our presence. We’re not just talking about harsh words or a few slaps here and there. There were numerous broken bones to our mother, concussions, dislocated shoulder, knife wounds, burn wounds, etc… Our father even testified under oath that he “hit” and “punched” our mother and “broke her nose” on two separate occasions. He testified in court that he “dislocated her shoulder” while my brother and I watched in horror. He also admitted under oath that several times he threatened to “kill” me and my brother. Our father fractured my brother’s skull by repeatedly slamming him into the stairway walls. Our mother was only 22 years old when child protection threatened her with “Failure to Protect” if she didn’t leave our father and take us with her. However my father filed for custody in family court citing “Parental Alienation.” Despite all the evidence; medical records, child protection reports, police statements, witness affidavits, testimony of our pediatrician and our own testimony that our father was hurting us, the judge reversed custody. It was the worst day of my life.

Without warning we were ripped out of the safety of our mother’s arms and given to the very man who beat us and threatened to kill us and our mother. We were denied all contact with our mother in order for them to try to “severe the close bond with the mother.” That in itself was devastating. Eventually we had a few hours a week supervised visitation with our mom. During those visits we begged our mom to help us and protect us. I lifted my shirt to reveal bruises and welts on my back and bottom. I told my mother and the supervisors that my father and his girlfriend were “still hurting us!” I was scolded by the court supervisors: “You know you are not allowed to talk about those kinds of things anymore.” After 18 months and 8 days of torture, including our father suffocating us with pillows when we cried until we lost consciousness, we ran away. We ran to our mother and together we fled the United States of America.

Even though we didn’t have passports we found a way out of the United States and made our way to Europe. Our mother sought protection for her children and requested amnesty in the Netherlands. After 3 long years in various refugee camps and intense investigations form the Dutch Ministries we were awarded asylum. As far as we know we are the first Americans to ever be granted asylum in another country.

We hid in the Netherlands for 14 years and did not have contact with family or friends during that time in fear that our father would find us and kill us and/or our mother. In 2007 we were found by the FBI. After a lengthy investigation from the FBI and again by the Dutch Ministries our asylum was upheld and all national and International Kidnapping/parental abduction charges against our mother were dismissed.

Now our abusive father has allied himself with the Father’s and Families Organization and Glenn Sacks has launched a personal attack against us and our mother. Glenn Sacks admitted to asking thousands of the Fathers & Families followers to “investigate” our mother. Now he is calling for them to come forward and bombard your newspaper with thousands of letters hoping to intimidate your publisher to retract your story. This is a standard tactic of these bullies and abusers. I hope you won’t be intimidated.

There are various battered mothers organizations out there as well as this very powerful father’s rights organization. I am in the process of gathering hundreds and hundreds of kids together to form our own organization and to tell the truth about what is really happening to us in the family courts.

Will you please listen to us?

Sincerely,
Jennifer Collins
Executive Director
Courageous Kids Network.

Stop Parental Alienation Retification Experimentation

Reversing Custody to "Alienated" Parents is Destroying Children!

Zachary and Jennifer Collins Before and After custody was reversed to their abusive father.

All over the United States family court judges are reversing custody to men who have been accused of abusing their own children!

In 1992 my brother and I were ripped out of our mothers arms and given to the man we identified as abusing us, our own father.

Even if the judge didn't believe our abuse allegations he NEVER should have ripped us away from a loving mother to rectify what my father claimed to be "Parental Alienation".

Being separated from our mother, having all contact with her severed and suddenly losing our primary parent undermined our ability to bond with anyone for the rest of our lives.

It is time to stop experimenting on innocent children. Ripping children away from mothers whom they are clearly bonded with is inhumane!

And just think... what are the consequences if these children are telling the truth about being abused?

Who will protect them once their mother has been removed from their lives?

Children Against Court Appointed Child Abuse ~ CA3