A Nassau County (NY) Supreme Court justice ended a bitter three-year custody dispute between Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly and his ex-wife, Maureen McPhilmy, by granting custody of the couple’s two minor children to McPhilmy.

Gawker writes that, though nearly all documents pertaining to New York family court cases are sealed, Gawker has learned that the justice in the case heard testimony accusing O’Reilly of physically assaulting his wife in the couple’s Manhasset home.

According to a source familiar with the facts of the case, a court-appointed forensic examiner testified at a closed hearing that O’Reilly’s daughter claimed to have witnessed her father dragging McPhilmy down a staircase by her neck, apparently unaware that the daughter was watching. 

O'Reilly shoots back at Gawker's claim that he assaulted his wife, telling Politico, "All allegations against me in these circumstances are 100% false," the Fox News host said in a statement to the On Media blog, issued through his personal attorney. "I am going to respect the court-mandated confidentiality put in place to protect my children and will not comment any further."