Need advise, and a little bit of venting. My husband and I have been dealing with is religious ex wife (divorced 4 years ago) and mother of his now 5 year old son hitting/spanking child as punishment leaving marks lasting for days/weeks. At first mother was proud because she was carrying out her fundamental beliefs spare the rod spoil the child. She gave police a video sermon that said she must do it to save him from hell or she hates him. She texted father she would never be swayed from her beliefs and that speaking against a parent is a capital offense in god’s law. She was prosecuted but case dismissed after she attended parenting classes. After several more incidents and family court appearances there was an order made of no corporal punishment. The commissioner we were dealing with left and new commissioner recused himself because he previously was mother’s lawyer (they connected through church). Case moved to judge who was raised by a minister. Mother was using our atheism as a pejorative in court and it seems to have worked. Newest bruises mother claims she has no idea how they got there, child told police mother did it but later in her custody recanted to cps and says he doesn’t remember how he got them. Several police in our small town go to mothers church and the ones that investigated are saying child sounded coached. Everyone (police, judge, cps) is now saying mother (very charismatic and wholesome) doesn’t seem to be someone that would hit her child and that were making it up. This is insane to father and I that our liberal town with less than 50% religious population can have so much religious bias and short term memory.