NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Gina Ehsani may finally be getting the peace of mind she’s been searching for these past six years, even if she’s had to pay for it herself.
We caught up with her on court hearing number 33 since 2020 to witness what she called a pattern of the courts giving her ex-husband one break after another.
Watch report from Levi Ismail
The same ex-husband is facing an aggravated stalking charge and multiple allegations of repeatedly violating Gina’s order of protection.
There were six violations of the order of protection over two years, between the calls, repeated texts, or even showing up in person.
“Does it cross your mind at all that he could walk right behind me and go into this hearing,” we asked.
“Yeah, he could absolutely do that. He’s done it before, when I’ve left,” Gina said.
Gina says Pehjman appears at the very last minute, once Gina and others have already left, just to avoid a bench warrant for his arrest.
“That’s always a concern. It’s the anxiety of walking up. It’s the anxiety of what shoes do I wear in case I have to run away from him?
She often thinks about what would happen if the two saw each other in the parking lot, but says it’s just part of the reason why she relies on GPS monitoring.
The app Gina showed us only pings when Pehjman is within 1,000 feet, which she says is better than having nothing at all.
Four years ago, a court ordered Pehjman to wear a GPS monitor. Within months, he declared he was indigent and could no longer afford to pay for the service.
The GPS monitoring company said it planned to remove the device, but that’s when Gina stepped in.
“I stepped in and said I will pay for it. $330 a month. You can have it,” Gina said.
Gina has one of the first cases we’ve seen where someone like her was forced to pay for court-ordered GPS monitoring because the defendant can’t afford it.
“This is unprecedented. So many judges, all the DA’s, folks like you have said, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gina said.
A Tennessee law meant to help victims falls short
Gina has seen how some of the most dangerous times for any victim are the moments leading up to trial.
Not long after sharing their story, Tennessee created a first-of-its-kind law requiring pre-trial GPS monitoring for offenders facing serious domestic violence charges.
The state fund, however, meant to pay for installing electronic monitoring devices on defendants who can’t afford them, won’t cover this.
"Over $16,000 I've paid. Taking out of the budget for me and the children. No vacations, because I got to make sure this is paid," Gina said.
The law, known as the Debbie and Marie Domestic Violence Protection Act, considered that some money might need to be set aside for defendants who can not afford monitoring. However, laws passed since then say defendants do not qualify for help from the state's electronic monitoring indigency fund — regardless of whether they are indigent.
"So, what you're telling the offenders is so long as you figure out a way to be indigent, you don't have to have a tracking monitor because nobody is going to pay for it," Gina said.
It’s not enough to simply have one of these devices installed, Gina says the courts need to understand that regardless if there’s no physical violence in a case like hers, lives are still at risk when monitoring isn’t taken seriously.
“My children have a safety plan in the event mommy is attacked. My children have a safety plan in the event someone comes into the house armed and they don’t know why, but they know that sometimes the world is a bad place,” Gina said.
“What do you think it would take for you to tell them that this plan is about their father?” we asked.
“That’s been the biggest hurdle because they’re asking questions now,” Gina said.
Gina has had to explain words like court and why dad can’t visit in person, but she says this isn’t about trying to paint him as a criminal.
She just knows this is the same man once dropped by a GPS monitoring company for allegedly threatening their staff. Gina said she later had to track down another company to take their place.
Gina expected to hear from that first company, but since Pehjman didn’t show, that also never happened.
“I want it to at least be known that I’m here. I’m going to collect all the information that I can from the DA, from the advocate that I can so I have that because we’re going to have to get ready for trial,” Gina said.
Bond revoked, guilty plea entered
We got a text from Gina a couple days later saying that after years of, will they or won't they hold her ex-husband accountable, the courts finally made good on that warrant.
Pehjman showed up, this time in handcuffs, but the hearing lasted all of 5 minutes, with bond revoked before trial, and by then Gina was still on her way from the parking lot.
She may have missed Pehjman, but said that at least now, she knows exactly where he’ll be.
“I’m not going to back down. I’m here. I’m going to go the whole route. Let’s go to the end,” Gina said.
The years-long wait for a trial may finally be coming to an end, but it’s hardly the end of Gina’s story. She wants GPS monitoring to be accessible for all victims, not just those forced to spend what they can to protect themselves.
Pehjman pleaded guilty earlier this week to four counts of violating the order of protection. All misdemeanors. Sentencing is set for next week, when Pehjman could face three years behind bars.
Gina told us she’s encouraged to know that even if there was never violence between the two, the courts are finally beginning to take her case seriously.
