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Please help this mother reunite with her toddler!

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Hello, my name is Chelsey.

I am the mother of Nova Connell, 3 years old. I share 50/50 custody with her father, who I separated from in June 2022. I entered into a Domestic Violence shelter in 2022 after fleeing from him with Nova, my keys, and our shoes. I have spent years rebuilding, all the while working a as a master hairstylist for 13 years. This situation had led to me take an extended break from my career in 2023/2024 while I navigated and focused on health, safety and stability after we fled. Her father has illegally and unreasonably kept her or abhorrently refuses any and all arranged meaningful custody visitation schedules we have made for over a year. My partner and I have hand delivered Nova to her father’s house for over a year, despite living 3 and a half hours away. I have documented everything since 2021 and am ready to go to trial. I have police reports, police escort camera footage, DCF reports, every screenshot from every form of communication from her father, screenshots of harassment of my friends from the father, videos captured by me, videos captured by Aurora, videos captured during police escorted visits, a spreadsheet detailing timeline of evidence, a timeline I have detailed of my experiences since 2021 detailed with coordinating evidence to show my claims. There is no court order, nor has there ever been, preventing me from being a parent to Nova. There has only been diminished meaningful custody exchanges solely because of the further abuse and harassment from the father.

I have lost out on most of 2024 in watching and being involved in Nova’s life. I have missed her 3rd birthday, every major holiday, and have not physically seen her since September 2024, when I showed up to her dentist check up appointment in a desperate attempt to see/ hug her. Before that, I saw her July 8 - 10, 2024 on my birthday. Before that, it was February/ March 2024. He is not reasonable nor working with me consistently. He has shown no good faith in complying in any arrangement of custody schedule.

On January 23, we entered into a mediation where he bullied me for 3 hours into no agreement. I offered to change my work schedule, drive halfway to a city in between our locations twice a week and offered my utter support in the fair and equality in our future agreement. He offered 4 days a month for 2 months, with the intention of going to mediation in April for him to “grade” my compliance in our “agreement”. He is strongholding me into an agreement that takes my rights as her mother and any future decision making, which is, again, only imposed by him, not the Florida courts. Please consider donating to our cause so we can continue to fight. My partner and I have a 3 bedroom apartment (since January/ February 2024) that have 2 separate bedrooms for the girls, to which they have not enjoyed or been able to spend time in. Aurora’s dad is also in contempt of court for noncompliance in our court ordered custody arrangement. Aurora’s father and Nova’s father plan and concoct together in secret to control me further.

I have another daughter (from another ex marriage), Aurora, who is 13 years old who wants to desperately see her sister. It is entirely unfair to her, to me, to the sanctity of our family unit.

I am asking to lean on my community during this time. I have tried to fight this by myself for 3 years, all the while trying to keep my children safe from this monster. I, for the first time, am pleading for someone to please read and understand my story. I am willing to share more information to anyone privately, if needed, to provide evidence to my claims. I can no longer do this without help or support from my community. I am begging for someone to understand this issue and how unfair and inhumane it is.

I am asking for $4000 to help with any court costs to help offset the financial stress this will further put us through. My lawyer and I fully expect him to drag this out as long as possible to avoid any accountability or punishment for the years of atrocities him and his family are committed to supporting and helping him commit every day. We are prepared to fight until Nova is home and custody is set in stone.


If you are unable to donate, thank you for reading my story.
If you could, I would appreciate it greatly if you could share my story.

No one should have to flee an abusive relationship to only have to return to it in a legal fashion only to be subjected to more abuse and harassment using our daughter as a bargaining chip.

Thank you.
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    Organizer

    Chelsey Krause
    Organizer
    Orlando, FL

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