Mom No Longer Has to Share Custody of Son With Her Rapist

A Michigan judge has rescinded his order that gave a convicted sex offender joint legal custody of a child born to a woman who said the man raped her when she was 12. Sanilac County Judge Gregory Ross ruled Tuesday that 27-year-old Christopher Mirasolo won't have any parental rights in connection to the 8-year-old boy, the AP reports. The case started when the 21-year-old mother sought state assistance for her son. As a condition of receiving assistance, the state required she cooperate in pursuing paternity verification and financial support from the child's father. A DNA test confirmed paternity. Mirasolo never sought parental rights, but Ross granted him joint legal custody and ordered him to pay child support last month.

Ross quickly put the order on hold after learning Mirasolo had two previous criminal sexual conduct convictions, including one concerning the boy's mother. In Michigan, joint legal custody enables both parents to share decision-making authority about a child's welfare. Mirasolo's lawyer says he didn't initiate the case.

(More child custody stories.)