Hello everyone, my name is Casey Rafael and my sister Caitlyn is currently dealing with a nasty custody disagreement. Since the birth of these children, she has taken care of them. Her husband is in the military, and she was a stay at home mother during the time while she was living with him. The family originally stayed with our mother while he was in training and in the process of getting assigned to a base, but moved when he was assigned states away from the family. She ended up moving back when her husband assaulted her and climbed up the side of the building to their apartment on the third floor and broke a window to get to her while he was drunk. At the time of this attack, she was halfway through her pregnancy with their second child. From then on, she was the sole caretaker of these children, with their father visiting rarely and only talking for a short time through video calls. She cleaned them, fed them, and loved them with the help of her immediate family, which includes myself, our brother, and our mother.

She wanted the family to be whole so her children wouldn't have to grow up with a broken family, so she didn't pursue divorce or legal separation at that time. That changed when she discovered her husband had been cheating on her with multiple women and was still emotionally abusing her. In one instance, he stole her phone to try to delete the evidence of his infidelity, and in an effort to get it back, she accidentally scratched him and he got her arrested for domestic violence. I note that when he assaulted her and broke property, not only did he steal her phone during that instance as well, she didn't have him arrested for his crimes because she didn't want her children without a father at that time, and he was forced to stay on the military base until she was comfortable with him being around her again.

This all came to a head when she, the children, and our mother drove to his state so that she could get the rest of her things from his apartment. He wouldn't allow her to get anything without the kids being there, so she was forced to bring them along so she could get all her belongings, and allow them to see their father since it had been months at this point. Her plan was to get all her things, leave, and then officially file for divorce, but that didn't happen. He once again falsely accused her of domestic violence and got her arrested for a second time. While she was in jail, he immediately filed for a protective order, and then hid the children from her so that she couldn't get to them.

Before the children were hidden away, my mother was still at the apartment the night that it happened. She noted that the children weren't being taken care of by their father, and he placed all that responsibility on her. The oldest's (2.5 years) hair wasn't being brushed, and she was covered in food and filth while her father was sitting on his phone. One of the last things my mother heard before the children were taken out of the house away from her was the older of the two screaming and crying for her mother.

His apartment is small and filthy. He routinely drives while under the influence (When he was supposed to drive down to be there for the birth of his second child, he got drunk and crashed his car on the way to our state and had to get a plane ticket instead), and he leaves his weapons strewn out on the floor for the children to potentially get in to. He has no money or ability to take care of them, but he is hiding them from their mother, who has taken care of them since the moment each of them were born, all because he continues to paint her as "crazy" and unfit. He has lied on legal documents to try get emergency custody (He lied and said they were former spouses when there wasn't even a legal separation in place as an example), and he has no child care because of the military wait list, so we don't know who is actually taking care of the children while he isn't there. We are afraid for their wellbeing, and all we want is for them to be back in their home. All of their belongings are with us, so they are without all of their toys, clothes, and necessities.

Caitlyn is currently going through the legal process of getting these children back, but because her husband has given next to no financial support, she doesn't have the immediate means to pay any legal fees without going into major debt. Any money that is raised by this fundraiser will go to her legal fees to make sure she gets her children back into a safe and healthy environment. Any extra money that we may raise will go to her to support her and the children through the divorce and custody battles since she currently can't work as she is out of state trying to get them back. Even if you can't donate, please share this around so we can return these children to their mother before something happens to them. I thank you for reading this, and no matter how you choose to support us through these trying time, I thank you for that as well.