Sex Offender wants contact with child

[prettyangelwings]

I have discovered the father of my child has been sentenced for grooming, due to be released shortly ( I know no further details surrounding the case at all - ex will not say,). Before his imprisonment my child saw father every weekend there was never any sign of abuse from him towards my child that I had witness or that my child had spoke of (I do not have a good relationship with my ex but encouraged contact for the sake of my child).

My question is - I acknowledge my child will want to see father when released, am I able to obtain a supervised contact order prior to his release on the assumption that he will be wanting to regain contact with his child. If so , how do I go about this?

If child is to see father I would prefer it to be supervised at all times - possibly in a contact centre.

call social services duty officer (call council ansd ask for social services duty officer to talk to) for advice on how to go about this - or call nspcc helpline.

if he involved with prison services/parole there should be someone you can speak to. and ask about conditions on him when released etc.

you can make an application yourself in the family proceedings court for a supervised contact order; the court is very likely to grant it. CAFCASS will be involved and there may be a risk assessment done. Information will be ordered from the probation service to help the court decide what order to make.

have you thought about the practicalities of supervised contact? Presumably you are thinking of a contact centre. These are not free. Who will pay?

My ex is on the sex offenders register and has asked for contact with our son. We've been through court and they have ordered he completes a risk assessment and parenting assessment, then he may be able to have supervised contact depending on the outcome of the assessments.

Not sure if you can go to court before he is released though.

Has he served more than 12 months? If so he will be released under supervision of a probation officer who will complete his risk assessments and may well include unsupervised contact with children as part of his license.

Your local probation trust's Victim Services Unit will be involved in his release - their remit includes potential victims (which could include your child) and if you contact them they may be able to ensure supervised contact is added to his license conditions prior to release. They would also liaise with his Probation Officer.

Sex Offenders often have very complex risk profiles - despite his index offence he may pose no threat to your DC. I understand you don't want to take any chances though.

Thank you for your replies. He's been sentenced for just over a year so will only serve 6-7 months inside.

I have been in contact with social services who say they are unable to assist at this time as no one from the probation/court service has contacted them as yet following the sentencing. They advised that I should probably wait until he is released to apply for any order and in fact it should be the father who should apply rather than myself. Is this correct? It seems odd that as the mother I have to wait and react to any action father takes rather than be proactive and take provisions to ensure child safety prior to his release.

Do I just wait now until he is released and his probation officer is in touch? If they deem unsupervised contact is okay following their assessment of him can I reject the same and apply for a supervised contact.

there may be advantages for you in waiting for him to make an application, in that if he is the applicant he has to justify it rather than you, IYSWIM.

there is no point in making an application to the court for a contact order before he is released (apart from anything else it will be extremely difficult for him ever to attend court), but Anything's advice above looks very sensible about getting conditions attached to his licence before release. I would start with that, and see what happens.

Thanks again, all sound advice. I'll sit put for now.

Up to you, but I think I would get in touch with the probation service Victims Service Unit.