A Michigan man is hoping to gain child custody over his son after the child’s mother, an Ohio resident, allegedly raped their 10-month-old son and sent a video of the act to her boyfriend over the Internet. Of course, many of us would hope that the father would automatically get child custody if the mother were to be found guilty, but unfortunately child custody matters are rarely that simple.
The sordid incident was first discovered by the ex-girlfriend of the man who received the video. She found the video in his e-mail account and quickly reported it to police, who in turn immediately began the investigation that led to the mother’s arrest. The woman is currently behind bars and is being held on a $1 million bond. She has supposedly admitted to sexually assaulting her son.
Though the accusations here are shocking, the father of the boy will still have to spend time maneuvering through red tape if he wants to gain custody of the son because he and the mother live in different states. His initial instinct, after hearing about the sexual act his former lover supposedly perpetrated against his son, was to head to an Ohio court and demand custody of his child. The man was not granted custody because child was born in Michigan, not Ohio. He was told by officials that he would have to file for custody in the state where the child was born.
After he returned home empty-handed, his family members started searching for a lawyer so their legal battle for custody of the ten-month-old could begin. The child is currently residing with his maternal grandmother.
According to official records, the 24-year-old mother was in court searching for unpaid child support payments just days before she was accused of assaulting her son.
Source: WWMT-TV, “Battle Creek father fights for custody after shocking crime,” Sept. 7, 2011
