Does the Court consider physical and sexual abuse committed by one parent towards the child in making custody orders?
If these types of abuse allegations are made during a custody proceeding and the Court has concerns regarding the child's safety, the Court may deny or severely limit the visitation of the children with the alleged abuser. The Court may also refer the matter to the local child welfare services (CPS or DCFS) to conduct an investigation of the allegations.
In addition, a parent convicted of child abuse under Penal Code 273a, 273d or Penal Code 647.6, or a person required to be registered as a sex offender, OR a parent in whose household resides a person resides a person required to register as a sex offender as a result of a felony conviction in which the victim was a minor, shall not be awarded custody or unsupervised visitation unless the Court finds that there is "NO significant risk" to the child and states its reasons in writing or on the record (FC 3030(a)).
With the above state of the law, it is important to know who your children are residing with at the other parent's house or whether the other parent meets the criteria above. If you need assistance in determining if your children are safe in the other parent's house or have concerns about the other parent's criminal history, contact Covina Child Custody Attorney Paul Eads today.