Content warning: This story contains discussion and descriptions of alleged domestic violence.
A judge has ordered Brody Dalle to let Josh Homme see their two sons as the former couple’s custody battle continues.
Dalle had previously requested temporary restraining orders for the boys, Wolf (5) and Orrin (10), from Homme, claiming they were scared he was going to hurt them. In the filing, it was claimed that the Queens Of The Stone Age frontman “abuses them physically and emotionally with flicks to the ear, put-downs, threats against their mother [and her boyfriend] and groping of the boys’ privates”.
A judge denied the request. Homme’s attorney, Susan Wiesner, said Dalle’s claims were “categorically false”.
On Friday (October 15), Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Lawrence Riff ruled that Homme be allowed to see his sons again. He also appointed four round-the-clock monitors who will oversee the ex-husband and wife’s children every hour they are with either of their parents for the next 30 days.
Josh Homme. Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images.
The last time Homme saw his sons, according to court records, was August 26. At the end of September, he was granted 15-minute FaceTime calls with them every other day.
The estranged couple’s daughter Camille will also be subject to monitoring, despite being granted her request for a temporary restraining order against her dad last month. The cost of the monitors – which is estimated to start at $1,000 (£729) a day – will be split by Dalle and Homme.
“It’s clear to me you need monitors,” Judge Riff told the hearing, which the two musicians both attended. “Some or all of you might disagree on that, but I think you do.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone two days before the ruling was made, Dalle said: “That’s all I’m asking for, that my kids are safe. We have to protect kids. We should always protect kids.”
The Distillers’ Brody Dalle live at Reading 2019. Credit: Jenn Five/NME
In his own statement to the publication, Homme added: “The hardest job in the world is to be a mom, but dads are important too. I’d wade through anything for my kids, even this.”
On Thursday (October 14), Dalle pleaded not guilty to contempt in the ongoing custody case. Homme had accused her of violating an equal custody agreement that was made in October 2020 and “alienating” him from his children by allegedly not allowing him to see them.
On September 3, he claimed that his ex-wife had violated their agreement by not releasing their children into his care as planned.
If you’ve been affected by domestic violence in the UK you can contact Refuge’s freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247. In the US, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1800 799 7233.
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