In re H.W. CA2/2

FACTS

The Prior Appeal2 H.W. was born in December 2010, to Jasmine C. (Mother) and David W. (Father). In July 2012, when H. was one year old, the police were called to a gas station where Mother and H. were hiding: Father had attacked Mother after she refused his demand for money. He slapped her face, threw her on the ground, throttled her neck, impaired her breathing, then burned her neck with a cigarette, causing pain. After the attack, Mother grabbed H. and ran, while Father chased them and pushed Mother from behind. Mother admitted that Father has hit her in the past; their relationship has been abusive for four years. Father fled before the police arrived to arrest him for spousal assault and child endangerment. Despite Father’s propensity for domestic violence, H. regularly stays overnight with him because Mother feels that the child “is in need of her father.” Mother did not want to press charges against Father. She rationalized that “Father had acted out of desperation with no intention to hurt her.” However, she admitted that “each time that she brought the child to see him, he beat her up and traumatize[d] her kid.” Mother did not seek a restraining order against Father…