Cardona

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

Daughter was born in 2010 to Cardona and Soto, who never married each other, and Cardona initiated a paternity case in February 2011. Later that year, the trial court entered a judgment of paternity, and the parties stipulated to joint legal and physical custody of daughter. In October 2022, when daughter was 12 years old, Soto filed a request for a DVRO against Cardona on behalf of herself and daughter. The request was prompted by an incident of domestic violence early on the morning of October 9 between Cardona and his current wife (wife) (October 9 incident). According to the request, Cardona got drunk and beat wife in their home while daughter was present. After daughter contacted another relative for help, Cardona slapped daughter’s face and told her “she was a piece of shit.” The request stated that as a result of the incident, Cardona was arrested and wife, who was taken to the emergency room, obtained a restraining order against him. The request also stated that Cardona verbally abused daughter on other occasions and had forced her to carry his gun. Cardona filed a written opposition to the DVRO request. He admitted that the October…