Belina v. Belina, A-24-650

Whitney Belina obtained an ex parte domestic abuse protection order against her husband, Travis Belina, for herself and their four minor children.
Travis had been convicted on criminal charges related to sexual assault but was out on appeal bond when the protection order petition was filed.
Whitney alleged that Travis engaged in nonconsensual sexual contact and penetration, as well as other intimidating behaviors such as following her, losing his temper, and making her feel unsafe.
At the show cause hearing, evidence included Whitney’s testimony, supporting witnesses, and incidents involving sexual contact without her consent.
No evidence was presented that Travis had ever threatened or physically harmed the children.
The district court affirmed the protection order for both Whitney and the children; Travis appealed that order.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether protection order for Whitney was justified	Travis abused Whitney via nonconsensual sexual acts	No domestic abuse occurred; not enough evidence	Affirmed – sufficient evidence of sexual abuse
Whether protection order for children was justified	Travis’s suicide threats posed credible threats	No threats or abuse towards the children	Vacated – insufficient evidence regarding the children

Diedra T. v. Justina R., 313 Neb. 417 (standard of review for protection orders; burden of proof at show cause hearing)
Maria A. on behalf of Leslie G. v. Oscar G., 301 Neb. 673 (threshold requirement of abuse for protection orders)
Linda N. on behalf of Rebecca N. v. William N., 289 Neb. 607 (definition of credible threat in domestic abuse context)
Rachel C. on behalf of Clayton R. v. Amos R., 32 Neb. App. 473 (weight given to trial court’s credibility determinations on review)
State v. Mielak, 33 Neb. App. 309 (standard for assessing consent in sexual assault cases)