On behalf of Stange Law Firm, PC posted in Child Custody on Friday, May 18, 2012.
A 27-year-old father is surely happy right now as a judge ruled he can continue to have custody of his 9-year-old son. However, he must continue to follow the court-ordered child custody agreement that he has with the boy’s mother.
Earlier this week, the father ended up pleading guilty to criminal restraint by a parent. This charge was in response to the boy’s mother claiming she didn’t physically see her son at all over a roughly seven month time period in 2011. As per the court agreement, she has visitation rights to see the boy every other week.
The mother reported this information to police, and after the father failed to show up for a court hearing regarding the matter, a warrant was issued for his arrest. However, after family read about his warrant in a news article, the father turned himself in on his own accord.
The judge assigned to the case ended up accepting the man’s plea and a deal that will mean that as long as the father follows the custody order – and grant’s the mother her visitation rights – the felony charge will be completely dismissed.
In this case, while the mother did not see the 9-year-old, the boy was never in any danger. In fact, the district attorney made it a point to point out that the boy will continue to live with the father in his home and that there was never any issues regarding the boy’s safety.
Overall, this case highlights the fact that child custody is not always awarded to a mother, and like in this case, a father can be awarded primary custody. However, the fact that the father was facing a felony charge shows that the courts take court agreements very seriously.
Because of this, if you are a father who disagrees with a court order, it is best to talk with an attorney who focuses on family law and child custody issues to see if it would be possible to make any changes to that order.
Source: Midcoast, “Searsport child custody dispute leads to plea deal,” Stephen Betts, May 17, 2012
