Photo submitted to the Sacramento Bee by Nan-Hui Jo; graphic design by Dillon Sung

39 SHARES Facebook Twitter Sign up and we notify you about new features and Add-Ons

Around 60 protesters descended upon immigration in San Francisco Friday to protest against the imminent deportation of domestic violence survivor and mother Jo Nan-hui.

They claim Jo may be just a few days away from deportation and the permanent separation from her six-year-old daughter.

Earlier this week, Jo was found guilty of child abduction. Sentencing is set for April 1.

The Asian Law Caucus (ALC) has been following this case.

“On two occasions in August 2009 and October 2009, Jo Nan-Hui called the Sacramento County Police Department after her child’s father physically abused her. After the October incident, she feared for her safety and fled to South Korea with her child [in 2009],” the ALC said.

The Father, Jessie Charlton, reported Jo to police saying she kidnapped their child.

Charlton is a combat veteran of the Iraq War with PTSD and anger issues according to the Korean American Coalition to End Domestic Violence (KACEDA).

“Using a common manipulation tactic to control a partner’s attempts to regain independence, her former partner retaliated by reporting Jo Nan-Hui for child abduction,” KACEDA said.

When Jo arrived with Vitz Da in Hawaii last July, she was arrested and immediately separated from her daughter and has been imprisoned since.

Vitz Da is now in the custody of Charlton and has not seen her mother for more than seven months.

She was raised as a Korean and is now prone to panic attacks.

Jo went to trial in December 2014 but the case resulted in a hung jury.

Steve Mount, the District Attorney (DA), pursued a re-trail.

“Instead of being granted protection, survivors of domestic violence are often criminalized,” KACEDA said.

Researchers at the American Civil Liberties Union report that of all incarcerated women in the United States, 85-90 percent have a history of domestic and sexual abuse.

Jo’s retrial occurred late February. Ahn Patty attended every day of the trial and documented important parts on tumblr.

There is also a small social movement in support of Jo, which is rapidly growing in size as Ahn and KACEDA advocate for the rights of Jo and others in the same situation as her.

RELATIONSHIP HISTORY & THE ARREST:

Jo and Charlton started dating in October 2007. She became pregnant in December that same year.

“When she told him she was pregnant, he became angry and swore at her, telling her to abort the foetus,” Ahn said.

“He didn’t want to believe it was his. He even told her that he would get his father to pay for the abortion. He also wrote her a letter telling her to get an abortion, saying that this world is shitty, I don’t want a baby, this baby will be cursed.”

The couple were in a tenuous relationship, fought about the baby, and broke up several times.

Jo gave birth to a baby girl on September 7, 2008 but did not contact Charlton as they were not in a relationship then.

Charlton later re-initiated contact and they entered a tenuous relationship again.

“Jessie [Charlton] usually very sweet and peaceful in first month, then it gets worse,” Jo said in broken English during examination in court. “But when he gets mad, he can’t control his anger even when it’s a small thing.”

Charlton was meant to be baby sitting one day but Jo came home to see he had been watching hard-core porn and gang bangs on his computer.

There were multiple incidents of confirmed domestic violence during this period and some of these were discussed during the trial.

In one incident Jo called the police because Charlton angrily chased her around the house while she was holding the baby.

Charlton publicly testified about his repeated violence against Jo.

“[I] grabbed her by the throat and threw her against the wall…broke [my] hand hitting the wall and punched the car’s steering wheel…sent emails considering spending thousands of dollars on a scary bounty hunter.”

Jo thought she needed to leave Charlton.

“I feel scared because harm to the baby is possible too,” Jo was quoted as saying by Ahn.

“Sometimes I feel he couldn’t control his anger and power. Broke many things. After my visa expired, he punched the wall and broke his hand. The wall was behind my head. He was yelling and punched right next to it.He explained he had brain damage from war so I tried to understand. I feel worried. I know his pattern so I worried he would get violent and lose control again. I felt it was out of control.”

At this point, Jo’s visa had expired and she was no longer in a relationship with Charlton.

Jo was unable to work or drive and had no option but to leave the country.

Jo fled to South Korea, with her daughter, where she gained meaningful employment as a building designer and writing children’s books.

She then received threatening emails from Charlton alleging that he would hire Kelly, a bounty hunter and ex-navy seal, to hunt her down.

Kelly and Charlton were good friends.

“The two of them would talk about their stories of killing people in front on Jo Nan-hui, which also made her afraid,” Ahn said.

Jo knew Kelly had a gun business.

“I was scared and didn’t check my email anymore. I had to be calm if I was going to take care of baby,” Jo said.

Jo decided to take Vitz Da to Hawaii to meet her father in July 2014. Vitz Da was 5 years old.

“Good time to meet Jesse [Charlton], if he is fine and safety. Jessie is baby’s father so I want them to meet together if it isn’t dangerous. If he is dangerous, not good for baby,” Jo said.

Jo flew to Hawaii to check out the schools with Vitz Da but was arrested upon landing at the airport.

DV RESEARCH AND THE LAW:

Academic Dr Edleson Jeffrey and his team researched battered mothers fleeing a country for safety.

“Mothers who flee with their children because of domestic violence may have few other options to ensure their safety and that of their children in the face of their partner’s violence,” Edleson said.

“Yet when their flight takes them across international boundaries, they become vulnerable to being legally treated as an ‘abducting’ parent by the courts.”

Edleson’s research led him to conclude that mothers fleeing with their children often face unsympathetic courts.

“U.S. courts that were unsympathetic to [DV victims] safety concerns and subsequently sent their children back to the custody of abusive fathers in the other country, creating serious risk for the children and the mothers.”

Jo’s case supports the findings of Edleson’s research.

One member of the jury in Jo’s abduction case, Denise Hoffer – a lawyer, was dismissed after she admitted she disagreed with the law pertaining to Jo’s case.

“I am very sorry that the conflict I felt prevented me from hanging this jury, as I feel ‘not guilty’ would have been the right verdict.”

Hoffer cried in her car for two hours after Jo was found guilty for child abduction.

“I want to actively participate in the campaign to prevent Jo Nan-hui’s deportation,” Hoffer said.

The Asian Law Caucas (ALC) urged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to drop the case against Jo, which they ignored.

“The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and ICE issued a new memorandum aimed to prioritize deportations, but Jo Nan-hui’s case highlights the dysfunction within agencies, which forcibly separate 1,100 families a day,” ALC said.

Although Jo has a U Visa application on file to recognize her status as a victim of crime, ICE continues to seek her transfer to immigration custody for deportation.

“For the past seven months, Jo has been detained at the Yolo County Jail after the judge in her case denied her bail because of an immigration hold. She also has been unable to speak to her daughter since July because of a no-contact order, which she is currently challenging,” ALC said.

If Jo is deported, she will not be able to represent herself in any custody hearing and could be separated permanently from her child.

“As advocates of domestic violence, we believe that this case should not have even been prosecuted,” Shim Hye-jin of KACEDA said. “We continue to be inspired by Jo Nan-Hui’s strength throughout this time and will be continuing the fight to ensure she is reunited with her daughter.”

KACEDA have set up a fundraising campaign to help cover Jo’s legal fees and other costs related to her appeal, pending immigration hearing and child custody hearing.

If you want to sign the petition to show your support for Jo Nan-Hui please follow this link. [bit.ly/standwithnanhui]