Man Says He Won’t Follow Former Girlfriend, Daughter to Harvard

The Long Beach man who lost his bid to stop his ex-girlfriend from returning to Harvard University with their infant daughter said Monday that he will not relocate to Massachusetts with them.

Tommaso Maggiore said last month that he planned to find a job and an apartment near Cambridge, Mass., to be closer to his daughter. But after a series of confrontations this month with the child’s mother, Gina Ocon, he said he changed his mind.

“We were talking, we were getting along, but things blew up,” he said. “It’s just really unfortunate that things had to come out this way.”

Maggiore and Ocon both say the other was responsible for assaults or threats in the past month. City prosecutors are expected to decide this week whether to pursue misdemeanor charges in at least one incident. Police now supervise whenever one parent takes custody of their daughter Bailey.

A family law commissioner ruled in May that Ocon could return to Harvard, where she has a full scholarship, with the child. In an order signed Tuesday, the commissioner said the parents would share custody during school vacations, and Maggiore would be allowed several visits per year. Maggiore, 21, was ordered to pay $213 a month in child support and share the cost of day care for 1-year-old Bailey.

He also agreed to enter a 12-step program to deal with what he called past “mistakes”--two misdemeanor alcohol-related convictions.

Maggiore had argued in court that it was unfair of Ocon to move Bailey 3,000 miles away from him. Ocon, he said, could attend a well-regarded college closer to Long Beach. He also questioned whether she could handle the academic rigors of the Ivy League while juggling the demands of single parenthood. Ocon plans to return to Harvard as a sophomore next month.

“I don’t think she realizes how hard it’s going to be,” he said. “The reality of it hasn’t hit her yet.”

Ocon said she is prepared to devote time to her daughter and her books. She expects to place Bailey in a day-care center about 35 hours a week, and said she may rely on friends or neighbors in emergencies. But both parents say they probably will wind up back in court to battle over custody when Ocon completes her education.

“Either he’ll sue for custody in three years or he’ll fade out of her life, which is probably the more likely of the two,” Ocon said.

Maggiore predicted that court showdowns are “going to be an ongoing thing for the next 18 years, I’m sure. But I’m going to fight every step of the way to be a part of my daughter’s life.”