Protect our Children by Donating $ for Legal Fees

Hi. My name is Leah Lacey, and I am the mother of 3 beautiful children. *WE* are survivors of domestic violence.

In May 2016, my mom flew to the state of CA, rented a minivan, and rescued us from an extremely violent home. My children were each given a box to collect the belongings they held closest to their hearts, and that is all. We drove to my hometown, Batesville, Indiana. We found support through family, friends, and a shelter for abused women and children.

I filed for a legal separation in June, 2016. After months of allowing my children's biological father to contact them, I filed for protective orders for all of us in October, 2016. In November, 2016, I proceeded to file for a dissolution of marriage, and this was finalized January of 2017.

My fiance and the person our children call DAD moved here June, 2017. This is the point in the story where everyone truly began to heal and learn to love and trust again.

September 2017, I bought a house! It's a beautiful home. We still live here :) However, the purchase of our new home was the catalyst to months of cyber and psychological abuse. In October, 2017, the police felt we were unsafe in our brand new home, and the kids and I were sent to the women's shelter. Once again, my kids had to pack their belongings. Only this time, instead of a box, they had a plastic bin. We were shattered...but we were safe.

Their biological father had threatened to murder me and burn down our new home. He was picked up in CA and extradited to Indiana. He was charged with Stalking (threat of bodily harm), Invasion of Privacy, and Obstruction of Justice. He pled guilty and was sentenced to 6 years in prison on September, 26, 2019. However due to time accrued while waiting for trial, he was released from prison January, 2022 and served one year of parole.

He is trying to get our protective orders dropped and parenting time. Our first hearing was May, 15, 2023. He had an attorney, and I did not. Although my older children, Toccoa, 17, Remus 15, wrote letters to the judge and were filed to the case, the judge did not read them. The judge has given me 30 days to file medical records and reports from counselors to show how the children are doing. I am attempting to gather all these things, but seven years of counselors and psychiatric services are difficult to navigate while working a full-time job. I have asked people from their lives to testify, but school employees need subpeonaed.

I am desperate to protect my children. His attorney stated that they recognize Mike will never be able to remedy his relationships with the older children but wants "a chance" with the youngest. This is terrifying. This man threatened to throw this child out of a window. My older two children will do anything to protect their younger brother from him. Price, age 10, has a person in his life that he knows as DAD. He is scared of the man that turned our lives upside down so many times. We cannot let this happen. Please, help us if you can.

Venmo: @Leah-Filice

CashApp: $lfilice