child abuse conviction

[bevm72yellow]

I would like to find out what happens to the contact rights of a parent once they are prosecuted for assaulting their child. (In Northern Ireland). Are they stopped for life from seeing the child or can they ever be in contact without supervision of another person?

It depends entirely on the case. It could go either way. If the assault is serious and the child is still at risk from the parent then they may be stopped from seeing the child. If we’re taking about a smack on the bum which has left a bruise, then conviction or not, the parent will be allowed to see the child

Prosecution and conviction are two different things.

I also think social services & the family courts apply policy and guidelines inconsistently.

My exh was convicted of assault against a minor a few years ago. He wasn’t allowed anywhere near them whilst on bail. Once he was convicted however those conditions no longer applied and as it wasn’t a custodial sentence, there was only me stopping him from seeing them. I got a residency order and as the children still wanted to see him and were of an age where their opinion had to be taken into consideration, we had mediation with social services involved and eventually began a few hours supervised contact once a week, building up over time until now where they stay overnight one night a week with him.

It really depends on the seriousness of the assault. Horrible to say that as all assault on a child is terrible.