NEW YORK -- Child custody cases can be nasty. But few end up as ugly as this.
Images: Bitter Custody Battle Fought On NYC Street
A wrenching, horribly public battle over 4-year-old twin girls played out right on the busy streets of New York City.
The girls' mother is Bridget Marks, a former Playboy pinup, actress and romance novelist.
The girls' father is John Aylsworth, 54, a wealthy casino executive who has been married to someone else for more than 30 years.
The courts ordered Marks to hand off her children to their father, who now has full custody.
A tearful Marks said the case has devastated the family.
“We've done a really good job so far, the girls and I,” said Marks. “They're brave, they're strong, they're bright, they're beautiful. I just don't know what's going to happen to our family. We're just being destroyed.”
It all started in 1998, when Marks began a four-year affair with Aylsworth. Marks got pregnant. She says when the twin girls were born, Aylsworth wanted little to do with them.
”I am their mother,” said Marks. “John is their father but I’ve been there for them. He abandoned me when I was four months pregnant. I’ve done this all by myself. I put them in school. I 've gotten them into private school, I’ve singlehandedly raised these children and it's a tragedy.”
But then one day Aylsworth decided to fight for custody of his daughters. The custody hearing got nasty, so nasty she had his visits secretly videotaped. She accused him of sexually abusing the young girls. He accused her of lying about it.
In the end, the judge awarded full custody to the father and the mother got supervised visitation.
So why would the children's biological mother only get supervised visitation?
According to court records, the judge believes she made up the allegations of sexual abuse to smear Aylsworth and that she was angry because he wouldn't divorce his wife to marry her.
“Her unbridled anger toward the father and inability to foster the paternal parental relationship make her ill-suited to be the custodial parent,” said the judge. “To leave the children in her custody would expose them to further emotional damage.”
Aylsworth and his attorneys denied our request for an interview.
The judge said in her findings that his infidelity didn't reflect on the kind of dad he would be.
"While the petitioner has had extramarital affairs, his failings impact on his ability to be a good husband, not a proper custodial parent,” said the judge. “All persons who have seen him interact with the twins testified that he is a very good parent and the twins love him and are happy when they are with them.”
Marks’ mother says their family wanted all of the attention.
”Well, I think one very good reason is the public needs to see what is happening to hundreds of children,” said Marks’ mother.
According to the court ruling, the father has to move from the west coast, to a residence in New York City.
But this case isn't over yet. Monday there's a federal court hearing, where Marks will try for a temporary restraining order to get her children back.
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Teary Mom Loses Custody Of Girls
