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Rep: Judge Didn't Know Father in Custody Case Raped Mom

Controversial order has since been put on hold
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 11, 2017 2:37 PM CDT
Rep: Judge Didn't Know Father in Custody Case Raped Mom
Christopher Mirasolo is seen in an undated photo provided by the Michigan Department of Corrections.   (Michigan Department of Corrections via Detroit News, AP)

A spokesman says a Michigan judge wasn't aware of a sex offender's criminal background when he granted the man joint legal custody of a child born to a woman who said the man raped her when she was 12. Michigan Supreme Court spokesman John Nevin told the AP on Wednesday that Sanilac County Judge Gregory Ross didn't know 27-year-old Christopher Mirasolo had two criminal sexual conduct convictions, including one concerning the woman. Nevin says the judge put the order on hold Tuesday after learning of Mirasolo's criminal past. A hearing is scheduled for this month.

The case started when the 21-year-old mother sought state assistance for her 8-year-old son. Ross issued an order last month granting the woman sole physical custody and Mirasolo joint legal custody after DNA tests showed he was the child's biological father. Mirasolo's lawyer says Mirasolo never sought the order. "I don't understand why they thought they needed to give him joint legal custody. He was my rapist," the mother told CBS News Wednesday. "I was receiving government assistance and they told me if I did not tell them who the father was of my child, that they would take that away from me." Mirasolo ultimately served six and a half months on a plea deal. He went back to jail after being convicted of raping another young girl in 2010.

(More rape stories.)

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