As we wait to hear the final ruling from the California Appellate court as to whether they will continue to retain jurisdiction and enforce California law in Baby Vanessa's case and while Ohio courts are on hiatus from their own version of who ultimately gets parental custody, there is a third court case going on in Ohio that is not entirely unrelated.
In this case, Benjamin Mills is dealing with criminal charges that arise from yet another incident of domestic abuse and alleged stalking against Andrea Conley, the birth mother of Baby Vanessa. This one took place right before the beginning of the custody hearing for Baby Vanessa, while the whole world was already watching him. If he's that bold in public, it makes you wonder what he must be like in private.
One may also wonder how can a man juggle and afford to deal with all of his legal issues? The answer is simple. Unlike, Andrea and Stacey Doss (Baby Vanessa's adopted mother), Mr. Mills has been giving a plethoria of legal support not only in Ohio, but in California as well. As a matter of fact, he has lawyers galore from Legal Aid of Western Ohio. While Ms. Doss goes into hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt due to mounting legal bills and while Andrea must rely on advice from do-gooders who don't officially represent her, Mills has at least 3 lawyers acting around the clock on his behalf.
Fighting is easy for Mr. Mills. Not only does he have people who are willing to do it on his behalf for his free, but there is no better way for an abuser to jack around and torment their victim than doing so under the auspice of the "legal process."
While the better parts of Mills domestic abuse has been actually physical, now Mills get to do so through the justice system as well. Unfortunately this behavior is not new or unique to those who are involved in domestic abuse cases or stalking cases. I can't tell you how many times they would prolong cases, violate probation, force victims to testify just to get the udder joy out of being able to exercise control under the cover of the system.
It's no small wonder to me that in one courtroom Mills fights his criminal charges and in another he fights for a birth child that he couldn't even manage to see when he was offered a free trip to California only 2 weeks ago.
People may ask, why would he target Stacey Doss and Vanessa? The answer is, he is not. He is seeking to control Andrea, the birth mother by fighting a decision that she made that he did not like. This case is not about undying love and control over Baby Vanessa. This is a case about control and the cycle of violence just like every other domestic violence, child endangerment, and stalking case that Mills has had.
So, now we have a peek into the biological dad who I would like to refer to as simply, "sperm donor." With a little insight to him, I think there is little doubt that there is no legitimate interest served by allowing Benjamin Mills to assert parental rights to any child, let alone Vanessa.
