March 22, 2023 by Natalie Cochran
Lone Star Legal Aid Protects Survivor of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault
Bailey met her boyfriend Danny through her friendship with his sister. They dated on and off for several years, often separating due to Danny’s emotional and physical abuse towards Bailey. When Danny was arrested for robbery, Bailey decided that was the final straw, and broke up with him. She had been working hard towards her career as a licensed security officer, and didn’t want to jeopardize that opportunity by associating with a criminal. After Danny was released from jail a year and a half later, he reached out to Bailey. He was offered a probation deal after turning a new leaf while incarcerated. He had accepted Christianity as his religion and found a good, stable job. He told Bailey he wanted to apologize to her as part of his recovery program.
They agreed to meet for lunch, and it went well, so they decided to be friends. After a few months, they started dating again, but everything about his behavior changed immediately. Danny became extremely controlling, possessive, and violent. “I thought things were bad before, but it was ten times worse this time around,” Bailey said. He began sexually assaulting her at gunpoint, and so Bailey began plotting her escape right away.
While Danny was gone one day, Bailey started loading her belongings into her car so she could leave before he got back. Danny came home early and accused Bailey of planning to be with another man or going to the police. Then it escalated. He forced her to drive out to the countryside, where he set her car on fire. Defeated, she agreed to return home with him. After this, he refused to let Bailey out of his sight. He followed her to work and watched her throughout her shifts. Bailey was not allowed to go to the bathroom without him. When the police contacted her about her car, he threatened to kill her if she exposed him. Bailey was charged with arson. She was terrified of what he would do if she cooperated with the police.
As she was incarcerated, Bailey allowed him to take her personal belongings to her mom’s house, so that her mom could bail her out of jail in the morning. When her mom woke up the next morning, she found Danny had stolen her purse, Bailey’s purse, Bailey’s gun, and her burned car. Her mother now had her own arson case to report and no transportation to get to her daughter.
When Bailey bonded out, she called Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) for help. LSLA Staff Attorney Brittany Hightower immediately connected Bailey to advocates at Families in Crisis (FIC), because we were concerned Danny would come looking for Bailey. Her FIC Advocate scheduled an appointment for Baily to meet with police to tell them what really happened with the car fire. She stayed at FIC until police were able to get a warrant for Danny’s arrest. He was to face charges for arson, domestic violence, and violating his probation.
We also filed and obtained a lifetime Protective Order (PO) for Bailey, but even with that, Bailey was still afraid to stay in her apartment. The police had not found Danny. We assisted Bailey with using her PO to break her lease and move to a new and safe location.
Danny was evading arrest, and on the run. During that time, Bailey got a notice from her bank notifying her that someone used her information to open accounts and use her credit cards. We helped her file a police report for identity theft and freeze her credit to stop ongoing financial abuse.
After Danny’s arrest, Hightower checked on her client, and Bailey told Hightower that she was doing well. She completed her security guard and PI training and was offered a job with the agency that conducted the training. She told Hightower that she wanted to get an emotional support animal to help her recover. “She sounded happier and more optimistic than ever before. I told her that her story was inspirational and could help others in the same situation,” Hightower said.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the client(s).
Lone Star Legal Aid (LSLA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit law firm focused on advocacy for low-income and underserved populations by providing free legal education, advice, and representation. LSLA serves millions of people at 125% of federal poverty guidelines, who live in 72 counties in the eastern and Gulf Coast regions of Texas, and 4 counties in Southwest Arkansas. LSLA focuses its resources on maintaining, enhancing, and protecting income and economic stability; preserving housing; improving outcomes for children; establishing and sustaining family safety, stability, health, and wellbeing; and assisting populations with special vulnerabilities, like those with disabilities, the aging, survivors of crime and disasters, the unemployed and underemployed, the unhoused, those with limited English language skills, and the LGBTQIA+ community. To learn more about Lone Star Legal Aid, visit our website at www.LoneStarLegal.org.
Media contact: media@lonestarlegal.org
