The ex-wife of a retired police sergeant hailed as a hero for his actions in a 2012 shooting spree has been imprisoned for defying a court order. She was incarcerated after failing to take her children to “family reunification” therapy with the former officer, who is now accused of decades of sexual abuse against her daughters.
Michael Hawkins, aged 55 and a celebrated ex-sergeant, is embroiled in a vicious custody row in the US courts with his ex-partner, Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins, over their two sons, who are 10 and 13 years old. At the same time, Hawkins faces allegations of raping Rachel’s daughters and attempting to drown their oldest son in 2018.
But, in spite of these heinous allegations, which include six felony charges of sexual assault on a child and one misdemeanour of child abuse ranging from 2002 to 2021 involving their 17-year-old daughter, it is mother Pickrel-Hawkins being punished.
Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins is currently serving a prison sentence last multiple weeks for refusing the mandatory “family reunification” therapy with Hawkins that was ordered amidst their divorce proceedings prior to him facing any criminal charges, reports the Mirror.
Mother Pickrel-Hawkins has vehemently denounced the court-ordered therapy sessions, conducted by marriage and family therapist Christine Bassett, criticising them as “harmful, abusive, and counterproductive.”
She found herself in trouble with the authorities after she blasted the court sessions as “nothing but manipulation, psychological abuse” and “coercion and gaslighting.”
Before her incarceration, she had custody of their children and was living in a shelter for domestic violence victims. She has organised for family members to look after her children during her time in prison.
The bitter custody case was first reported on by the Denver Gazette. Michael Hawkins claims he’s innocent and denies all charges. Meanwhile, a judge has granted him visitation rights.
Hawkins was released on GPS-monitored supervision in July after posting $50,000 bail. His ex-wife, however, remains behind bars for her refusal to comply with the court’s orders regarding their sons. Supporters have set up a GoFundMe seeking lawyers and donations to her legal fund.
Hawkins got out on bail in July, tracked by GPS after coughing up $50,000 for bail. His former wife, though, is locked up for refusing the court’s demands.
In the accusations of abuse, the son, who says he was nearly drowned in a pool in 2018 in Costa Rica by the father, said he believes this was punishment for catching Hawkins inappropriately touching one of his sisters, according to court documents obtained by the Denver Gazette.
Hawkins was arrested on accusations of sexually assaulting his daughter, now 17, when she was merely five years old. In court documents, she alleges that her father repeatedly molested her throughout her childhood despite her pleas for him to stop.
Pickrel-Hawkins’s two daughters, whom Hawkins adopted, also allege they were victims of sexual abuse by Hawkins.
Hawkins “adamantly denies the accusations,” his lawyer Christopher Estoll told the Denver Post. “The legal process will provide him with the opportunity to present additional information related to these allegations in the future.”
Larimer County District Court Judge Daniel McDonald also doubted the son’s testimony of abuse, while acknowledging that there was evidence pointing to Hawkins having abused the eldest child physically, the judge remarked in his verdict that it was “one instance that does not involve either of the two children at issue.”
With that, the judge ordered the “enforcement of weekly two-hour reunification therapy sessions designed to rebuild the bond between the boys and their father, who now confronts criminal allegations.”
These therapy meetings come with a $370 weekly price tag. According to the judge’s decision, the mother is liable for the entire cost of any sessions her sons take part in solely with the therapist and must share the costs with her ex-husband for any sessions he joins.
For confidential support, call the 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Freephone Helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit womensaid.co.uk If you or your family have lost a friend or family member through fatal domestic abuse, AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse) can offer specialist and expert support and advocacy. For more info visit www.aafda.org.uk