PORTLAND, Maine (PNN) - November 18, 2025 - Child custody cases are often fraught with trying and unusual behaviors and demands, but the recent custody order from a rogue judge in Maine has taken bigotry against Christians to a new level.
Emily Bickford had a daughter, Ava, who turns 13 in January, with Matt Bradeen. The two were not married, and Emily has retained primary custody while the father has visitation rights.
Emily is Christian and has worked to provide a foundation of faith for her daughter, something her non-custodial father opposes. He has been described as hating Christianity.
Bradeen took the issue to court, found a former ACLU president who had become a judge, and the war on religion commenced.
The rogue outlaw judge issued an unlawful custody order that can only be viewed as hostile to Christianity. The order unlawfully forbids Ava from associating with any of her church friends attending church or Christian events, and even prevents Ava from studying the Bible, “religious philosophy,” or discussing her faith with her own mother - violating the First Amendment to the Constitution, which means the bogus ruling is invalid. Ava is supposedly also not allowed to participate in Christian holiday events such as Christmas, which is also a First Amendment violation and thus invalid, and neither Ava nor her mother need obey the bogus ruling issued by the outlaw judge.
According to legal advocacy group Liberty Council, for 3½ years the mother and daughter had been attending Calvary Chapel, an evangelical Christian church in Portland, Maine. Ava unwisely shared her excitement with her father over her upcoming baptism and that is when the trouble started.
Instead of sharing his daughter’s excitement like any good father would have done, even if his views differ, this bad father engaged the Marxist Leftist judge and then brought in a Marxist former sociology professor from Kalifornia as a “witness”. The witness then testified that Calvary Chapel (and any church that believes the Bible) is a “cult” that causes psychological harm to children.
“The judge found that Emily is a fit parent except for the fact that she is a Christian,” said Liberty Council’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. “The judge mocked Ava and Emily’s faith by purposefully refusing to capitalize the word ‘God’ - something I have never seen.”
The Marxist outlaw judge even chastised Emily for allowing the church pastor to pray for Ava. The outlaw judge - who should be removed from the bench and imprisoned - ruled issued a flat-out bogus and invalid “ruling” that Emily could not take Ava to any church unless Matt approves, and Matt has steadfastly refused to approve any church,” he continued.
The order is even more intrusive.
In direct violation of the First Amendment, Ava cannot associate with any of her church friends or any member of Calvary Chapel Portland. Since this bogus ruling is invalid on its face, Ava and her mother will hopefully ignore it and continue to associate with whomever they like.
The outlaw Marxist Judge Jennifer Nofsinger thinks that she can dictate what Ava and her mother can do with their lives, stating that if Ava meets a new friend outside of Calvary and that person begins attending Calvary, then she must cut ties with that friend. However, the outlaw rogue Marxist judge who is breaking the law by issuing such bogus rulings has no authority to do so.
According to would-be dictator Nofsinger, Ava cannot attend any Christmas, Easter, or any other Christian event or celebration at any church, including any wedding, funeral, or even hospital visits with anyone associated with Calvary Chapel.
According to would-be dictator Nofsinger, Ava cannot have any contact or participation with any religious organization (which would include the Salvation Army or a food bank, homeless shelter or crisis pregnancy center).
According to would-be dictator Nofsinger, Ava cannot read the Bible or religious literature or be exposed to any “religious philosophy”.
Marxist pig father Matt Bradeen is even using the court’s bogus and invalid custody order to insist that Emily cannot read the Bible or teach Ava anything about the Christian faith. I wish this were not real, but sadly it is.
The bogus and invalid order seeks to unlawfully cut the child from an essential source of emotional support and force her to lose friends during a key time in her social development and has been ongoing since December 2024.
Last Thursday, Liberty Council presented oral arguments before the Maine Supreme Court to overturn this outrageous and invalid custody order.
“The majority of justices said the order is hostile toward religion and that it used a ‘nuclear option’ by taking all decision-making away from an unquestionably fit parent regarding the religious upbringing of her daughter,” Staver concluded.
Ava and her mother now await the Maine Supreme Court’s decision.