Senate candidate Sean Parnell suspends campaign after losing custody battle

Hours after learning that a judge awarded primary custody of his three children to his estranged wife, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Sean Parnell said he cannot continue with his campaign.

“There is nothing more important to me than my children, and while I plan to ask the court to reconsider, I can’t continue with a Senate campaign,” Parnell said in a statement. “My focus right now is 100% on my children, and I want them to know I do not have any other priorities and will never stop fighting for them.”

Statement just issued by Parnell campaign. pic.twitter.com/DARNZLpwRL

— Paula Reed Ward (@PaulaReedWard) November 22, 2021

On Monday, Senior Judge James Arner issued an opinion saying that he found Laurie Snell to be more credible and that he believed her when she testified about instances where Parnell got physical with her and their children.

“She provided factual details of each incident, including when they happened and what happened,” he wrote. “She testified in a convincing manner. Her testimony was not uncertain, confused, self-contradictory or evasive.”

Arner said he found Parnell’s testimony to be “less credible.”

“He simply denied that all of [the] incidents ever happened,” Arner said. “He was somewhat evasive. When weighing his position against Laurie Snell’s statements of detailed facts about many incidents, Sean Parnell’s position is less believable.”

Laurie Snell and Parnell separated in 2018. They have three children, ages 12, 11 and 8. During her testimony on the first day of the Butler County custody trial Nov. 1, Snell alleged that Parnell had physically abused both her and her children.

During his testimony the next week, Parnell denied he had ever struck anyone in his family.

In his opinion docketed Monday, Arner awarded primary physical and sole legal custody to Snell, with partial physical custody to go to Parnell.

On the docket, the judge wrote: “Laurie Snell was the more credible witness & she can truthfully give regular status reports to Sean Parnell & as may be needed to the court.”

Parnell was not immediately available for comment. He had been backed for the open Senate seat by former President Trump.

In a statement issued by her attorney, Jennifer Gilliland Vanasdale, Snell said she was “grateful that justice prevailed.”

“She will continue, as always, to focus on their best interests,” the attorney said in the statement.

Snell alleged during her testimony that Parnell would exhibit fits of rage, pin her down and scream at her, and he struck one of their children in the back. She also accused Parnell of once punching a door that then struck one of their children in the face.

During the three-day custody trial, Snell also alleged that Parnell, who previously ran for Congress, travels extensively and is not able to provide the same level of care and attention to the children.

Parnell’s attorney argued that Snell showed no evidence of a pattern of abusive or hostile communication. She also argued that Parnell is blending his family with that of his girlfriend of three years, and that the relationship provides additional support for the children.

In his opinion, Arner wrote that the three children, who testified behind closed doors with just the judge and attorneys present, love and feel safe with both parents, and that both parents provide proper care for them.

Under those circumstances, he continued, it would seem both parents should have equal time and say in parenting decisions.

“However, that arrangement has been tried and is not working, primarily because both parents refuse to communicate and compromise,” Arner wrote.

He said in his opinion that in determining custody, he considered most the children’s need for stability and continuity, each party’s availability to care for the children and the level of conflict between the parties and their willingness and ability to cooperate.

In the 15-page opinion, Arner recounted the testimony by Snell, including her allegations of abuse by Parnell. He found Snell’s testimony to be credible because she could remember and describe the specific incidents she testified about.

Arner wrote that he also considered how Parnell looked, acted and spoke during his testimony.

“He was dressed very casually for his appearances in court, in blue jeans and untucked plaid shirts, which did not show respect for the seriousness of the occasion,” Arner wrote. “While testifying, he looked mainly in the direction of his attorneys and toward members of the news media in the back of the courtroom, rather than at me.”

In determining their credibility, Arner noted that Snell and Parnell have motives that could affect their testimony.

Parnell said Snell’s motive was to embarrass him and damage his political career, while Snell said Parnell is motivated to preserve his public image and political career, the judge wrote.

“Upon consideration of the credible evidence, I find that Sean Parnell did commit some acts of abuse in the past,” Arner wrote. “However, since the incidents involving Laurie Snell occurred so many years ago and did not involve the children, they are not relevant to this custody determination.”

Therefore, Arner wrote, he did not make a finding as to what specifically happened. Arner said he did make a finding that the allegations made by Snell regarding physical incidents with their children did happen.

However, the judge said he did not place weight on those because they occurred more than three years ago and there have been no further incidents.

“The fact that Laurie Snell has agreed that Sean Parnell can have substantial periods of unsupervised custody indicates she does not view him as a threat of harm to the children,” Arner wrote.

Further, the judge said that the children did not express any concerns for their safety.

In weighing other factors in the case, Arner said that Parnell moving out of the children’s Seneca Valley School District to Sewickley weighs heavily in Snell’s favor.

“Availability is a major factor in this case,” Arner wrote.

He also noted that Snell’s work schedule is flexible, she works from home and plans to remain living in the area.

Parnell’s frequent travel — particularly heading into campaign season — also weighs in favor of Snell, Arner said.

Arner said both parties are equally at fault for the high level of conflict between them and their failures to communicate effectively and compromise.

In his order, the judge wrote that sole legal custody means the “sole right to make major decisions on behalf of the children, including, but not limited to, medical, religious and educational decisions.”

Both parents are entitled to full access to any records relating to the children, including school and medical records, the order said.

When Snell makes medical or educational appointments for the children, Arner said, she must provide notice to Parnell within 24 hours so he can attend if he wishes.