15 year old Daughter key witness to the arrest of John Fotinos denied protection by Judge Robert Foiles A young

daughter and her mother, Michele, are in fear of losing their lives afte r the San Mateo County Court and in particular, Judge Robert Foiles denied them a restraining order for the third consecutive time in six months. The subject o f the restraining order, ex-firefighter and convicted felon John Fotinos, was re leased from a San Mateo County Correctional Facility yesterday after the court r educed bail. Fotinos was arrested last Thursday for the second time on felony p ossession of weapons, including assault rifles, and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

His 15 year old daughter the key witness, who ran from her father s home after years of mental and physical abuse, advised the court and Child Protective Services a bout the guns in a lengthy declaration last December when the first restraining order was requested. She has told the Sheriff and District Attorney her and he r younger brother, currently still a victim of abuse in his father s home, were forc ed to help hide the weapons and both were severely threatened by their father if they ever divulged the existence or whereabouts of the guns. In denying the re straining order, Judge Foiles showed an alarming lack of judicial responsibility and made no effort what so ever to substantiate the daughters claims before rul ing against her. He hastily ruled and in so doing has forced her and Michele to live in constant fear of reprisal from an angry, deranged father and ex-husband with a long history of abusive, threatening and irrational behavior. The dau ghter struggles to sleep as a result of recurring nightmares about her father co ming to get her. On June 11 and 12, 2012 the daughter was questioned as to the location of the we apons and on June 14, 2012 the sheriff raided the storage unit of Dawn Hogan Gro ver and seized the weapons exactly as she had described it, totally corroborated the information she had provided to Judge Foiles in her initial statement and c ompletely validated her debilitating fear of her father. Still, with clear subs tantiation that the daughter was indeed truthful in her declaration to the court , Judge Foiles egregiously and unconscionably ruled against providing protection on behalf of the children and their mother by denying their request for yet a s econd and third restraining order. In essence, he has sentenced Michele and her children to the wrath of a vengeful man with nothing left to lose who, back whe n this case first began, openly and angrily avowed that, his wife had no idea who s he was dealing with. She will NEVER get those kids . Kamala Harris Attorney General of California had refused to step in and protect and ensure the safety of the citizens of San Mateo County. On Friday, June 29th at 9:00 am in the courtroom of Judge Robert Foiles, Michele and her daughter will once again seek the courts help and protection during a n ew hearing to rule on a change of custody and a restraining order. For years the court has chosen to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the cries of the help less victims in this case and there is no reason to expect that they will do oth erwise on Friday without some means of pressure or intervention; some public pre sence that will hold this judge accountable for his decisions and send a message to all family court judges that if any errors are to be realized during court p rocedures involving children, those errors must always fall in favor of what is by design the courts mandated, primary purpose, the safety and welfare of childr en.

For more information contact Patricia J. Barry, Esq. 213.247.4902