Legal Question in Family Law in Georgia
Child Custody and Convicted Pedophiles
My estranged husband has recently been convicted of several sex crimes committed against my 14 year old daughter, his step daughter. The abuse began when she was seven years of age and continued intermittently until she was 12. From the time my 14 year was 8 my husband and I have been separated. The abuse occurred during privately arranged visitation, as there has never been court ordered support or visitation. We have an 11 year son and an eight year old daughter, (biologically his) for whom he is now seeking visitation (although he is currently incarcerated) and has a prominent Atlanta lawyer acting for him. His conviction was as a result of a plea and complete allocution to the charges for which he was convicted. I would like to know how the current of the law is running and some recent decisions in Georgia involving convicted pedophiles gaining visitation and custody. Do pedophiles gain visitation? In what instances could a pedophile be granted visitation?
Can his biological children be legally prevented from knowing about the abuse committed by the pedophile parent. His children do not know of his pedophilia, I am fearful they will have to find out if we have an ugly custody battle.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Child Custody and Convicted Pedophiles
I would suspect his odds of getting even supervised visitation would be remote, given that he has already victimized a member of his immediate family, secretly over all those years, and his current abode is a jail cell, which doesnt do much for him. Fortunately, the current of the law is not running in the pedophiles favor. The superior court judge that ultimately rules on your case will have a lot of discretion. As to whether his children will find out their father is a pedophile ... the law as a practical matter can do very little. Although I would think it was inevitable they would find out. See, O.C.G.A. Sec 19-9-1.
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