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Mel Defends Himself in Child Custody Case

On Behalf of | Nov 16, 2010 | Child Custody

It is not often these days when actor and director Mel Gibson has a chance to speak for himself. But in a recent hearing over the custody of his and Oksana Grigorieva’s daughter, Gibson had the opportunity to defend his actions that have had the entire country in a frenzy.

Grigorieva is Gibson’s ex-girlfriend, and she has become well-known to the public after recorded conversations between her and Gibson made it onto public airwaves. The Russian musician claims that Gibson was abusive to her. Specifically, she reports that he hit her in the face during a heated argument in June.

The tapes mentioned above help support Grigorieva’s claims that Gibson is unstable, but it is an argument presented by Gibson recently that is now inspiring thought and debate surrounding the domestic violence allegation. His argument could also help Gibson somewhat save his reputation and save his daughter from her mother’s reckless behavior.

We have all heard of the term self-defense. But what about child-defense? That is not an official legal term, but that is basically the justification that Gibson and his attorney give for the A-lister’s behavior on the June night in question. He claims that, yes, he and Grigorieva were arguing and he did strike her, but he did so in order to “shock” his ex out of her “hysterical” behavior.

According Gibson, Grigorieva was carrying the baby around their property during the argument. She was allegedly shaking the baby with her “rough and erratic movements,” and Gibson was afraid that the baby would get hurt in the process. To protect the child’s well-being, therefore, he slapped Grigorieva one time. He claims that he did not and has never struck his ex with a closed fist; nor has he hurt their daughter.

A judge could decide that Gibson’s decision to slap Grigorieva was less of an incident of domestic abuse and more so a case of using reasonable force to prevent a child from being injured. This is an ongoing, dramatic family law situation, and we will be sure to post an update as the case progresses.

Source

Fox News: “Mel Gibson Admits to Slapping, Not Hitting Oksana,” 15 Nov. 2010

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