‘NO PATTERN’

Judge: No Evidence Former Missouri Guv Eric Greitens Abused His Kids

The Missouri judge also ruled that the case at hand, a custody dispute between Greitens and his ex-wife, will be moved to Texas.

A Missouri judge has determined there is no evidence that Eric Greitens, the state’s former governor and failed U.S. Senate candidate, engaged in a pattern of abuse against his children, the Kansas City Star reported Friday. “The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that there has been no pattern of domestic violence by either Mother or Father,” Boone County Circuit Judge Leslie Schneider wrote. “The children have never been at risk or vulnerable at the hands of either parent.” The ruling comes amid a custody battle between Greitens and his ex-wife, Sheena Greitens, who alleges he was abusive to both her and their kids. She wrote in a filing obtained by The Daily Beast that, on one occasion, Greitens took her phone, wallet and keys after an abusive episode so she couldn’t flee or call for help, justifying it by claiming he was trying to limit damage to his political career. Greitens has denied allegations of abuse, suggesting in court that stories were fabricated to bring down his Senate campaign. Greitens, who has aligned himself with the far-right in a series of stunts including his inflammatory “RINO hunting” ad, lost his primary in August. In order to protect the kids’ privacy, Schneider ordered future custody proceedings to be in Texas, where they live and where Sheena works as a professor.