Judge Denies Paula Patton's Request to Change Custody Agreement With Robin Thicke
— -- An L.A. Superior Court judge denied Paula Patton's request to change her custody agreement with her ex-husband, Robin Thicke, according to paperwork obtained by ABC News.
Patton claims in the paperwork that their son Julian, 6, told her that Thicke has spanked him. "Over the past year, I have become concerned about [Thicke's] drinking and drug use, as well as the forms of punishment he is using to discipline [Julian]," Patton states in the paperwork.
According to the documents, a judge ruled that there was insufficient evidence that Thicke's behavior was causing "great or irreparable harm" to Julian, or that the singer posed any immediate danger to him.
"The Court having read and considered the moving and opposition papers in chambers, denies the Petitioner/Respondent's ex parte request for orders," reads the document. "The Court finds there is insufficient showing of great of irreparable harm, immediate danger, or any other statutory basis for granting relif ex parte."
Thicke, 39, and Patton, 41, who were married for eight years before they split in 2014, currently share custody of their son.
As a result of the claims of physical abuse, Patton asked for Thicke to have monitored visitation, to attend a parenting class, and for Julian to have therapy and his own counsel. She also requested that Thicke be forbidden to use illegal drugs or consume alcohol while the child was present.
Patton says her concerns about physical abuse "culminated on January 4, 2016, when Julian's school called Department of Child and Family Services ('DCFS') to report what they believed to be credible allegations of abuse from Julian against [Thicke]."
Patton stated that she believed the DCFS investigation was ongoing, though a rep for DCFS would not comment when contacted by ABC News. Thicke said in the paperwork that he was due to meet with a social worker about the matter on Thursday, and noted that DCFS "has not sought to remove Julian from my care, placed any restrictions on my custody, nor instructed Paula to withhold Julian from me."
The singer also denied being abusive to Julian, and suggested that Patton is lashing out because she was not permitted to attend the funeral of Thicke's father, Alan, last month. He also stated that he was "shocked" to learn that the Department of Child and Family Services had been contacted earlier this month, especially because he had not seen Julian since Dec. 31.
"I have always used progressive discipline with Julian; primarily the use of 'time outs,'" he testified. "One a very rare occasion, and only as a last resort, I will use light spanking, but it is consistent with the law - open hand on the butt. This is the type of discipline to which Paula and I agreed during our marriage."
