HARDIN CO.— Hardin County State’s Attorney Tara Wallace has lost yet another bid to convict a woman she has targeted since being elected to office, simply because the woman wrote something on her personal Facebook page that insulted Wallace.
This time in her relentless pursuit of Julie Hobbs and despite a judge’s ruling concerning a 12-yer-old boy being in emotional distress, Wallace has pushed her agenda anyway.
First failed attempt infuriates Terrible Tara
Wallace had told several individuals that she was going to “get her” (meaning Hobbs) for the Facebook comment.
Hobbs worked for the late attorney Jack Quarant, who died in July 2012.
Shortly after being sworn into office later that same year, Wallace presented an application for a search warrant to judge Paul Lamar.
Wallace told Judge Lamar that her personal investigator (and suspected romantic fling) Tom Maynor had written the application.
Disclosure sources indicate that Wallace was the one who wrote the application and had Maynor sign it, which would make her guilty of perjury, official misconduct, and malicious prosecution just to name a few, if anyone would decide to push it.
The case was ultimately thrown out by Lamar, who said there was no evidence for the charge ever being filed.
In a phone conversation with Disclosure publisher Jack Howser (who didn’t know about the falsifying of the application at the time) earlier this year, Wallace expressed that she was outraged over Lamar’s decision.
Emotionally distraught
Hobbs’ 12-year-old son was having a very difficult time over visitation with his biological father.
In January 2013 the boy, very upset after years of reportedly being stood up by his father for court-ordered visitation, didn’t want to go, and so Hobbs didn’t force the emotionally distraught boy.
Hobbs was later cited for Unlawful Child Visitation Interference.
The boy later went for a visit.
In February 2013 Hobbs filed a motion to suspend visitation.
Her ex-husband Jeff Dutton had been given what is considered the usual visitation schedule common in divorces involving children.
He had been granted no more than two consecutive weekends from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. on Sunday when home on leave from Bluegrass Marina.
Dutton was required to provide 36 hours notice to Hobbs before exercising visitation.
Adoption sought
On December 11, 2012, an adoption case was filed wherein Julie Hobbs’ current husband Gregg Hobbs was seeking to adopt the child.
Hobbs was asking the court to suspend all visitation until a ruling could be made in the adoption case because of the emotional damage the visitation was causing with the child.
Judge T. Scott Webb of White County, to whom the case was handed, said the undisputed testimony in the case revealed Dutton had exercised visitation with the child on only four occasions since 2008 which included three hours May 17, 2010, for six hours on January 8, 2011, six hours on January 15, 2011, and for a period of time on January 18, 2013 that lasted approximately 40 hours.
Webb said that prior to 2008, Dutton’s interest in seeing the child had been greater.
“However, the father (Dutton) testified that he ‘gave up’ on seeing his child after 2008,” Webb wrote in his decision.
After 2008 Dutton sent no birthday cards, one Christmas card and purchased no birthday or Christmas gifts for the child.
Dutton admitted that his interest in seeing the child has increasing since the filing of the adoption case.
Crushed over being stood up
Hobbs testified to several instances during which the child would get dressed in anticipation of his father coming to pick him up and he would not show, causing the child to go to his room and cry.
“This type of behavior subsided over time and the child no longer desires to visit his father,” Judge Webb wrote. “The child is currently in counseling at his request as he expressed a desire to speak with someone about being so hurt and upset regarding his father’s apparent lack of interest in his life. The child gets very upset and does not want to comply with the visitation order when he learns that his father is seeking visitation.”
Webb conducted an in-camera (private) interview with the child and said in his decision that he observed the child’s body language and vocal inflections during the interview.
Afraid mother would go to jail
“He appeared moderately nervous but no more than a normal 13-year-old child would be, given the circumstances,” Webb wrote. “He was poised and willing to converse with the court.”
Webb said the young boy expressed a strong desire to cut off all ties with his father and spoke of instances where the police came to his house to enforce visitation and he was concerned his mother would go to jail.
“He said the only reason he went in January 2013 was because he did not want his mother to get into trouble,” Webb wrote. “He indicated that he had no bed to sleep in when he spent the night with his father and there were no clothes for him to wear. He said he spent most of his visitation time watching television and that his father paid little attention to him.”
Suspended visitation in March 2013
Webb went on to take the unusual step of suspending Dutton’s visitation until there was a ruling on the pending adoption case.
“Not only is it apparent that the child wishes not to visit his father, but also that said visits are upsetting to the child. He is currently in counseling because of the strained relationship with his father and gets upset when the prospect of visiting his father arises. The fact that he only visits his father because he is afraid his mother will go to jail if he refuses, is an overwhelming burden that no child should have to shoulder,” Webb wrote in his final decision. “Moreover, for all practical purposes, the child and the father barely know each other. Sixty hours of visitation over a five-year period hardly qualifies as quality time. While the mother did not call a psychologist related to the current situation, it is apparent the child is experiencing mental and/or emotional problems related to the current situation.
“The court finds that requiring the child to adhere to the 2007 visitation schedule would seriously endanger his mental and emotional health.”
Wallace pursues charges against Hobbs anyway
Even after that very specific written decision by Judge Webb detailing the boy’s fear of his mother getting in trouble, Wallace continued her relentless prosecution of Hobbs, calling in a special prosecutor Tambra Cain, Johnson County State’s Attorney.
Hobbs was found innocent of the charge of Unlawful Child Visitation Interference in a Nov. 15, 2013 bench trial.
But she lives in fear that Wallace will make another attempt to convict her of anything she can because of a comment on her Facebook page that she claims she didn’t even write.
“What kind of a heartless bitch pursues something like this knowing she could cause more damage to an already troubled child? Does she not have children of her own?” asked one individual who has been following the case. “What the hell is she going to try next? Hobbs should sue her ass off.”