A 32-year-old man who had been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend saw his 10-week-old baby for the first time in Island County Superior Court Monday, May 21, but it may be awhile before he gets to see the infant again.

The baby’s mother petitioned the court to rescind a court order that barred Joshua Graham from contacting her. Her request, however, ended with an angry exchange between a judge and the victim.

The Oak Harbor woman explained to Judge Vickie Churchill that she breast feeds her baby, so the baby can’t be away from her to visit Graham. As a result, she wants Graham to be able to see the child with her present.

Churchill was skeptical. She read aloud from part of the police report, which states Graham attacked and choked the woman when she was 17-weeks pregnant. Graham was originally charged with felony domestic-violence assault, but pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault.

The woman claimed that the police report “overstates” the assault. She admitted that she had bruises on her throat, but that Graham grabbed her by the neck to stop her from assaulting him. She said she hit him because he was cheating on her while she was pregnant and that advocates from a domestic-violence agency used “scare tactics” to persuade her to press charges.

“This is not an attempt to win my man back,” she said.

But Churchill wasn’t convinced.

“Whether you realize it or not, this type of action threatened the life of your child,” she said, referring to the baby before she was born.

The woman angrily responded that she’ll be back next week to ask the judge again, but Churchill said she’s ruled on the issue and it’s over. Churchill also suggested that Graham could simply visit the baby for a couple of hours between feedings.