Dad Jailed for 6 Months After Thousands of Abusive Texts
Tennessee case summary on custody and contempt in divorce.
Texts from ex-husband warrant change in custody and 6 months in jail for contempt..
Emily Ruth Hughes v. Lucas Hughes
The parents in this Clark County, Tennessee, case were divorced in 2019 and agreed to a parenting plan. Under the plan, the parents were to have no contact with one another, other than text messages concerning the children. The father instead sent thousands of text messages seeking to rekindle a romantic relationship with the mother, but she told him to stop. Eventually, she filed a petition for contempt. She also alleged that he talked to the children about the divorce and blamed it on the mother.
After that petition was filed, the mother alleged more violations, such as sending her pornography, visiting her workplace, and leaving gifts on her car.
The trial court agreed with the mother that the father was in contempt, and sentenced him to 186 days in jail, to be served consecutively. It also limited his parenting time, finding that he had an emotional impairment. It also awarded the mother her attorney’s fees. The father than appealed to the Tennessee Court of Appeals.
The father first argued that he did not have proper notice of the contempt charges. The appeals court, however, quickly dealt with this issue by pointing out that he raised the issue for the first time on appeal. Therefore, it deemed the issue waived.
The court next looked at the appropriateness of the contempt finding and the sentence. In particular, the father argued that the sentence was excessive. But the appeals court disagreed. It found the charges both egregious and disturbing. It found the thousands of messages to be harassing and abusing, and accusatory and insulting. It noted that the father ignored even the advice of his own attorney and continued texting.
Overall, it found the sentence wholly supported by the record.
The father also argued that the trial court should not have modified his parenting time, but the appeals court agreed that they change was supported by the emotional impairment the father suffered.
Before affirming the trial judgment, the appeals court also awarded the mother her attorney’s fees on appeal.
No. E2023-00952-COA-R3-CV (Tenn. Ct. App. Apr. 19, 2024).
See original opinion for exact language. Legal citations omitted.
To learn more, see Modifying Custody & Parenting Plans and our video, How is child custody determined in Tennessee?
