||| Michigan Department of Corrections |||
A Michigan judge earlier granted a convicted sex offender’s request for joint legal custody of a child born to a woman who says she was raped by the man when she was a minor at aged 12. On Tuesday, the judge decided to stay his order.
The stay order came after the woman’s lawyer raised an objection late last month after the judge signed an order allowing sole custody of the boy to the mother and joint legal custody to Christopher Mirasolo, who was also ordered to provide child support. The mother is 21 years old while the man is 27.
On Tuesday county prosecutors also said in a released statement that the paternity issue was brought up when the mother asked for help from the state for her 8-year-old son. The statement further clarified that while Mirasolo was granted joint legal custody after the confirmation of his paternity, the mother was also provided with veto power over any rights he had to be able to see the child.
A DNA test last month confirmed that Mirasolo is the biological father of the boy.
The prosecutors stressed that the order “awarded the mother sole physical custody of the minor child”. They also said that the order is clear that, if the mother does not want the father to have visitation, she does not have to provide it. “
It was not also established as of Tuesday whether prosecutors were aware of Mirasolo’s criminal record during the assistance and paternity case- crucial information that could have altered the decision.
Mirasolo pleaded guilty in 2008 to attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct and also served six month jail time for the crime. He went to prison anew in 2010 for four years in a separate sex crime case.
Sanilac County Probate Judge Gregory Ross set the next hearing for Tuesday next week.
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