1. February 25, 2009
Chief Judge Ann Murray
State of Maine
Administrative Office of the Courts
163 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0171
Dear Chief Judge Murray:
This letter serves as a request to investigate the conduct of Liz Stout, guardian ad litem (GAL)
and the resulting judgment for a case involving two year old Mila Malenko, daughter of Lori
Handrahan and Igor Malenko. Judge Moscowitz made a final judgment in this case on
December 29, 2008 which followed Ms. Stout’s recommendations exactly and disregarded an
entire body of evidence in direct contradiction to the GAL’s findings.
As a result, apparently, of the unchecked power of a GAL, Judge Moscowitz found that no abuse
occurred and that I had no “corroborating” evidence of abuse. This despite a guilty plea of
domestic assault by Igor Malenko himself with the District Attorney, a police officer testifying to
the arrest and Igor Malenko’s own admission to the police, and Igor Malenko’s own counselor,
Allie Knowlton, testifying that she believes Mila Malenko’s life is at risk. The judge has
rendered invisible an entire day of testimony.
Judge Moscowitz found Igor Malenko “credible” and found me, as the GAL and psychologist
had claimed, “to be not credible.” The judge finds the court-appointed psychologist, who
worked closely with the GAL, very credible. This despite a contrary report by Dr. Leslie Drozd,
the leading psychologist in America. The judge denied Dr. Leslie Drozd, whose husband was on
an organ transplant list, the ability to testify via telephone.
Dr. Jackie Campbell, the country’s leading domestic violence expert conducted a lethality
assessment, predicting with 92% accuracy that I am at extreme risk of being killed or attempted
to be killed by Igor Malenko something he has repeatedly and graphically threatened. Dr.
Campbell also needed to testify by telephone but was denied this by the judge. Her report is
totally absent from Judge Moscowitz’s findings.
The testimony of Maine’s leading domestic violence expert, Lesley Devoe, is also absent from
Judge Moscowitz’s findings. In an earlier hearing before Judge Mary Kay Kennedy, when the
GAL had attempted to lift the supervised visits, Judge Kennedy had asked the GAL and Dr.
Kabacoff to work with Lesley Devoe. Dr. Kabacoff refused. While the GAL did make contact
with Lesley Devoe she rejected her findings which were based on the evidence that I had been
attempting to get the GAL and Dr. Kabacoff to consider.
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2. The leading experts in Maine and America looked at the factual evidence of abuse and all found
this evidence credible and serious. Yet, apparently because the GAL and the court-appointed
psychologist refused to consider the same body of evidence the judge believed the GAL and the
court-appointed psychologist and did not believe me.
You will note that the judge went through the five episodes of abuse, of which for four there was
collaborating evidence. There were many more episodes but these four were corroborated. Igor
Malenko lied about all of these. He claims he didn’t throw a jar at my head despite a police
report where he is quoted by the officers as admitting to the assault to which he plead guilty. Yet
even the police reported incident the judge finds me “not credible.”
Other incidents were admitted by Igor Malenko to counselor Allie Knowlton from True North.
Allie Knowlton broke her confidentiality because of her belief, based on Igor Malenko’s own
descriptions, that Mila’s life is at risk by unsupervised visits. She testified in court (this had been
provided to the GAL beforehand) that Igor Malenko had told her that he had uncontrollable rage
attacks against me and Mila, that he had flashbacks, that he “lost control before he knew it.” He
admitted to hitting me in rage attacks while I was lying in bed breast-feeding Mila. He had asked
for help with his abuse and rage.
Allie Knowlton’s testimony is completely absent from the judge’s findings.
One doesn’t have to do much research to see the vast amount of documentation about how
broken the family court system is, how often GALs side with the abuser, how many judges are
guided only by the GAL recommendations, how many mothers survive an abusive relationship,
have the courage to find a way out, only to have the courts strengthen the abuser and provided
him (most often him) with custody of the children he has only recently abused and or put at risk
and harm.
Maine statue clearly states that the court must “consider as primary the safety and well-being of
the child.” 19-A M.R.S.A. 1653(3). Maine rules for Guardians state that Guardians are to
“diligently work to protect and promote the best interests of the children they are appointed to
represent” as well as “advocate on behalf of the child's best interests.”
Liz Stout’s investigation was neither “fair” nor “complete.” She actively ignored a large body of
documentation that supported my claims of Igor’s abuse. She exhibited a clear and early bias
towards Igor Malenko, a known abuser with a police record of domestic assault among many
other documented recordings of abuse.
The judge and the court-appointed psychologist followed her lead.
I am not credible, have a “problem with reality,” and cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Therefore
the abuse did not occur and neither I nor my daughter are at risk. The court, guided by the GAL,
has ruled this to be “true.” The court’s ruling renders me not a survivor of abuse, a mother
attempting to protect her child from further abuse, but rather just one more crazy, delusional
mother who has imagined it all.
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3. Mila Malenko’s safety and well-being, as well as my own, have been compromised by Liz Stout,
and now the court. Moreover, my ability to earn a living and support my daughter has been
seriously, perhaps permanently damaged, by the recommendations of the GAL and the court
order that I not be allowed, although I have primary residence, to leave Maine.
I am requesting that this case be investigated by your office. I believe the behavior of both the
GAL and the court-appointed psychologist in this case to be suspect and to have placed a
survivor of abuse, a mother and a child, at risk, as well as having destroyed my ability to earn a
living that supports my daughter’s financial well-being. I am requesting your office do whatever
is in the power of the office to obtain justice, a fair hearing before the courts, and uphold Maine
laws on GAL practice.
Sincerely,
Lori Handrahan, Ph.D.
207-221-7706
28 Franklin Ter.
South Portland ME 04106
CC: Ken Atlshuler, Attorney at law
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