Asian-American, domestic violence, and immigrants rights community groups have been rallying to support Nan-Hui Jo, a single mother who fled with her daughter to South Korea in order to escape the alleged physical and emotional abuse of then-partner and the child’s father, Jesse Charlton, only for him to have her arrested and tried for child abduction as soon as she came back to the United States.
Jo has been in jail and not allowed contact with her daughter since July. Her former partner, a combat veteran of the Iraq War with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) – who has testified in court to grabbing Jo around the throat and throwing her against a wall – has been granted custody of their six-year-old daughter.