A New York State Family Court awarded a father sole custody of the parties’ three children after the mother insulted the oldest child, a 10 year old boy, by calling the child an "asshole" on Facebook. The mother testified without remorse during a Family Court hearing, that she did so because that is what the child is, and that she wanted her friends to know it. This was one of the reasons the Court considered in a decision to modify custody of the parties’ children. The Family Court also granted an order of protection against the mother that prohibited her from posting any communications about her children on any social network site.
The order of the New York State Family Court was upheld by the Appellate Division, Third Department, in Melody M.v. Robert M., in a decision issued on February 14, 2013. The Appellate Court noted that the mother’s testimony revealed a lack of insight as to the nature of her conduct toward her child. The parties previously had joint custody of their children.