WOW!!! ~ just imagine all the trauma and ruined lives saved if any diocese had cared/worried this much about its abusive priests ~ ~ Sooz

Catholic school fires teacher because she’s a domestic violence victim
By David Edwards
Thursday, June 13, 2013 10:47 EDT

A Catholic school in California has fired a teacher who was the victim of domestic violence because they said her presence threatened “the safety of the students, faculty and parents.”

Carie Charlesworth told KNSD that she had worked in her school district for 14 years before Holy Trinity School in San Diego decided that her husband’s threatening behavior made her too unsafe to have around — even though he was incarcerated.

“They’ve taken away my ability to care for my kids,” she explained to the station in an interview published on Thursday. “It’s not like I can go out and find a teaching job anywhere.”

Charlesworth said that the school learned about her situation after she requested a leave of absence following abuse by her husband in January.

“Basically, we’d had a very bad weekend with him, we’d called the sheriff’s department three times on Sunday with him,” she recalled.

After her husband showed up in the Holy Trinity’s parking lot, the school went into lockdown. The next day, parents were notified that Charlesworth and her four children, who also attended the school, had been put “on an indefinite leave.”

“And that’s what it felt like, the kids and I were being punished for something we didn’t even do,” she said.

In April, Charlesworth received a letter from the San Diego Diocese, notifying her that “we simply cannot allow you to return to work.” She was also told that she would not be allowed to teach at any diocesan school in the district.

“I mean, that’s why women of domestic violence don’t come forward, because they’re afraid of the way people are going to see them, view them, perceive them, treat them,” Charlesworth lamented to KNSD.

Watch this video from KNSD, broadcast June 13, 2013. [Sooz says video accessible via end link]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/13/catholic-school-fires-teacher-because-shes-a-domestic-violence-victim/

“I mean, that’s why women of domestic violence don’t come forward, because they’re afraid of the way people are going to see them, view them, perceive them, treat them,” Charlesworth lamented to KNSD.

I have a little bit of a problem. The husband came to the school and the school had to go into lockdown. She didn't have to come forward about the domestic violence; it came to the school.

The husband's in jail so her job should be secure, but I unfortunately see the school's pov also. They are responsible for the safety of the students and staff. The man is unstable and unsafe and presents a danger to the school.

I agree, kathy. Right now, more than ever, people are on edge about violence especially at schools. Any sort of threat is going to spook them.

On the other hand, should this become the norm, all an abusive spouse has to do is threaten their spouse at their workplace for a good dose of "in your face revenge" type of thing.

We cannot allow an entire business or school cave to the threats of an abusive person. That just gives them more power.....which is what abuse is all about. Call the cops, have them arrested, but do not punish the victim.

However, if the victim is going to stay with the abuser, they don't have much choice if they want to protect their staff and/or the children. The article didn't say if they live together. If they do, she obviously doesn't worry too much about her safety or her children's safety......

Sort of a rock and hard place situation for the school. I see their point too.

As for this:

“I mean, that’s why women of domestic violence don’t come forward, because they’re afraid of the way people are going to see them, view them, perceive them, treat them,” Charlesworth lamented to KNSD.


Umm, no. Most people don't bring their domestic violence to the workplace, endangering others. The reasons most abused women don't come forward are numerous and complicated. Stop the pity party and get help!

A cowardly decision by the diocese.

siding with tradition.

For sure.

How would you handle it?

Not knowing the school set up or proceedure, I would ask: What if he comes back with a gun the next time? How would you feel if your child went to that school?

Perhaps this will galvanize her into leaving the bastard and moving away. As long as she is still with him, she poses a risk to any employer, but the worst risk of all is to her and her own kids.

An employer has no obligation to protect an employee from their own personal issues. When that employee brings those issues to work and it puts other people in danger, the employer isn't left with much of a choice.

A San Diego domestic abuse victim is now out of a job after she was fired following a "domestic violence dispute" with her ex-husband.

NBC San Diego reports that Carie Charlesworth, a second-grade teacher at Holy Trinity School, was placed on indefinite leave and then let go because school officials feared her ex could put students and other staff in danger.

After a domestic violence incident in January, Charlesworth's ex showed up outside the school,

He's her EX husband, roseanne. She did "leave the bastard".

I would have thought that the school would have counted on at least one third of the Holy Trinity for protection before letting the teacher go.

In the school's defense, this is a small Catholic school. They don't have the budget for armed guards.

The other parents were not thrilled and applied pressure....

Charlesworth and her kids, who all attended Holy Trinity, have not been back to the school. Parents who spoke with 10News off-camera said they agreed with the school's decision to let Charlesworth go and some said they threatened to pull their children.

I personally think the school should have made efforts to move her and her kids to a different school in the diocese and set up safety plans for both the teacher and the school. However unfeminist this sounds I can't really fault the school too much for erring on the side of safety for their students.

I'm torn on this ~ I understand both "sides" ~ I agree kidlets must be the first concern, but I still see this as lose/lose ~ Kathy offers some good suggestions in her last post ~

Also, FTR, my personal experience is that domestic violence IS brought into the workplace ~ we once had 3 fairly violent confrontations [different victims] in our offices in a short span ~ and even if the confrontations are not in public, the effects almost always are ~

Sooz

Give the lady the time off she needed, give her the help she needed, keep her children in school, but since USians are scared shitless of everyone and everything...

And even if a DV victim divorces their abuser, that doesn't mean the abuser will stop going after them. We need stronger laws protecting the victims and putting abusers in jail with longer sentences.

The Catholic Church has plenty of money, they are one of the biggest businesses in the world.

Rather than help this woman and her kids escape this situation-which they could easily afford to do by relocating that family and providing a job in another state, etc.,- they chose to leave her at the mercy of her abuser and turn their backs.

But I'm sure the praying will be a big help.

Are we? Most of us USians want our kids to come home from school alive. While there are loads of stories about abusive moms and dads most of us want our kids to go to school in safe environments. This clown proved himself unsafe. This is a Catholic, private school and not a US public one so the parents paying tuition are the ones saying we don't want our kids in this dangerous environment. I would probably say that, too. I would NOT play chicken with his life.

I agree with Chaos that the Catholic Church has money and could help this woman to relocate away from the husband. I'm sure they could find her an equivalent job. I am also thinking there is more to this story than what is being presented.

I am also thinking there is more to this story than what is being presented.

Yes, that is the problem- these matters are not simple and what is right is not necessarily safe. Sometimes there is not a solution that is right, fair and safe to all involved.

I'm not going to comment on the teacher, but for me the issue with the kids is black and white. You do not kick children out of school because they have violent parents. Schools are public institutions with the opportunity and duty to provide the stability when their families are falling apart.

I'm feeling very emotional about this post and these children. There was a time when I was picking my own children up from school early, because the police were afraid that my suicidal husband might try to take them with him to the great beyond. The schools provided me and my children with nothing but loving support. As a teacher, I was on leave from my own job, because with everything that was going on, I did not feel I could be effective as a teacher.
But my kids are just kids. They have a right to an education no matter how fucked up their father is.

I have taught children that were abused, who had witnessed all kinds of violence and abuse. They have enough issues, and are in need of protection and support from society and it's institutions. Giving them the "not in my backyard" brush off is a really big metaphor for what is wrong with society in general right now.

In the US Catholic schools are not public institutions and they count on tuition dollars to stay in business. Mom is getting an employee rate for her kids and if parents paying full price start hacking out you know what follows.

Yes, that is the problem- these matters are not simple and what is right is not necessarily safe. Sometimes there is not a solution that is right, fair and safe to all involved.

I agree. The needs of the many..............

I'm not going to comment on the teacher, but for me the issue with the kids is black and white. You do not kick children out of school because they have violent parents. Schools are public institutions with the opportunity and duty to provide the stability when their families are falling apart.

gat no disrespect, but you live in Canada. If you lived in the US, with the current numbers of school violence and the number of guns out there, you might not be as sure. First of all, the Mother has a duty to provide stability. If she won't leave her violent, bastard husband and he follows her to her employment or the kids to school, then the school has a duty to protect the entire school. Of course you don't kick kids out of school if they have violent parents, but if the parents bring that violence to the school, you may have to. The current atmosphere of violence in the US puts the school in a very awkward position.
This man wasn't suicidal as much as he may have been homicidal. Much different that your situation.

Where is this "if she won't leave the bastard" stuff coming from? From the op I read, she did. Even if she didn't--we punish kids because their parents are dicks? He's in prison. This is nothing more than NIMBY.

And because it's a private school--that gives them the right to cherry pick students? The almighty dollar rules supreme? This is EXACTLY why I think there should be NO financial support from the state for private schools. We need that money to go to schools where EVERYONE is welcome.

I fully agree with no public money to support private schools.

A former Catholic school teacher said she is considering a lawsuit against the Diocese of San Diego after she was dismissed from her job and forced to pull her four children from the school because of perceived threatening behavior by her allegedly abusive ex-husband.
Carie Charlesworth has been on leave from her position as a second-grade teacher at Holy Trinity since January, she said, after her ex-husband, Martin Charlesworth, 41, showed up one day that month in the school parking lot, prompting a campus lockdown until police arrived.
The couple divorced two years ago and Carie Charlesworth said she got a restraining order against her ex-husband because he had been physically abusive.
“I think I did everything that I was supposed to do by informing the principal that this was happening,” Charlesworth told ABC News. “I’ve done everything they tell a victim to do and yet I still got punished because he made the choice to show up to school that day.”
Her husband was arrested Jan. 30 and eventually pleaded guilty to “stalking or making a criminal threat,” according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and was sentenced in April to four years probation and given 365 days in jail.
Martin Charlesworth’s attorney, Aniko Marie Rushakoff, told ABCNews.com her client was allowed to have contact with his ex-wife regarding matters concerning their children. When he did not get a reply from her, Rushakoff said Charlesworth became worried and went to the school parking lot to see if his ex-wife’s car was there.
“He’s always been very apologetic about his behavior,” Rushakoff said. “He has never intended to hurt her or anyone else. His primary concern has always been for his children to make sure they are OK.”
Carie Charlesworth said her four children, who range from kindergarten to eighth-grade students, have not been back at school since the incident.
On April 11, school officials, under Diocese of San Diego letterhead, sent Charlesworth a letter to inform her that the “unfortunate and challenging situation” created by her ex-husband would result in her contract’s not being renewed for the upcoming school year.
“In the interest of the safety of the students, faculty and parents at Holy Trinity School, we simply cannot allow you to return to work there or, unfortunately, at any other school in the Diocese,” school officials wrote. “Therefore, you will not receive a teaching agreement for the 2013-2014 school year.”
In the letter, school officials said they found Martin Charlesworth’s behavior “sobering” and had found records dating back two decades filed in Alaska that indicated he had a history of domestic violence with previous women.
The diocese has not responded to a request for comment.
A search of Charlesworth’s criminal past by ABC News showed a domestic violence filing by another former wife in 1991, according to Alaska court records. It’s unclear how the case was resolved.
Another woman was named in a 1996 filing, according to Alaska court records. That case was closed in August of that year and a claim was filed by the same woman again in October 1996 in San Diego County Superior Court, according to court records.
Carie Charlesworth took her husband to San Diego County Superior Court in 2011 for alleged domestic violence, resulting in the order of protection that he subsequently violated when he showed up at the school.
The following year, another woman filed a domestic violence claim against Martin Charlesworth, according to court records. It’s unclear how the matter was resolved.
“We feel deeply for you and about the situation in which you and your children find yourselves through no fault of your own,” the school wrote. “It serves no purpose to go through your husband’s legal history, except to say that his threatening and menacing behavior has not changed but has actually increased over the past 20 plus years.”
When Martin Charlesworth is released, Rushakoff said he plans to “find a job and work on himself so he can be a good father.”
“He feels terrible. Absolutely terrible about it, just the idea his family cannot be supported because of his actions,” Rushakoff said.
Carie Charlesworth and her attorney said they are exploring legal options against the diocese, where she had been employed for 14 years.
The mother of four will receive her teaching salary through August 9, 2013, but said she’s already concerned about how she’ll support her family when the paychecks stop.
“I have my good days and my bad days where I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said. “I have four kids to take care of and I’m the only one.”

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2 ... dismissal/