Am I going insane?

[YourLuckyRedPoet]

So my ex husband and I share two girls aged 7 and 6. For the most part we have co parented for the last 5 years reasonably amicably.
Multiple times a year there is cause for me to speak to him about something. Like the time he decided timing my eldest autistic child eating to make her faster was acceptable, or the time he decided that they can both only have three sheets of toilet paper to wipe with.
Christmas 2022 was the big one when he decided to take my children to his mothers for the day. Typically no biggie, but his brother who is a known registered sex offender lives there and we both had the understanding that the girls would never come into contact with him. The girls come home and what do they say? "We had christmas cuddles with Uncle X". I hit the roof. He hadn't said a word when dropping them off, just dropped them and left them to!
He lies and says the girls didn't see him.and he stayed in his room, the girls say he sat and had lunch with them. I know who I believe.
I took him to court in March 2023 and asked for a prohibited steps order preventing him from being able to take them there. He signed a parenting plan (not legally binding I know) saying he agreed not to take rhem to any address at which his brother resides, we went to court. The judge didn't grant the order on the basis that we were both in agreement and made an order that said "neither parent shall bring the children into dirrct contact with the brother". I thought the matter was settled.
Fast forward to this month and he has yet again taken them there BUT thinks it's fine because he sat on the driveway with them and they didn't get out of the car and his mum came out. His brother was in the house and (newsflash) was convicted of a second sexual offence against a child in 2023.

I have instructed a solicitor to yet again go for a.prohibited steps order preventing him from taking them within 500m of any address his brother resides at. He says he has got a legal advice appointment but that could be a complete bluff I have no idea.

My questions are:

• am I going mad for doing this again?
• do I bother? (His brothers MO is to block children from leaving a room unless they hug him then he gropes hence my skin crawling with "Christmas cuddles", not a phrase we have ever used).
• what are the chances this is granted?

Not a lawyer but since he breached the agreement, put on record by the court , I cannot see how a judge would not agree to your application.

I might add that i would be concerned about the whole family dynamic of your ex as they appear to minimise what the sex offender does and ongoing risks to your children.

What do the kids say about the recent episode? Do they say they had direct contact?

A judge has to find it necessary to make the order. Technically he hasn't breached the parenting plan if there is no direct contact and I suppose technically if he has just been on a driveway with kids in the car.

I'm not saying I wouldn't also be livid but it might be tricky to get a court to say that anyone was at risk if his version is right.

Also.. are you sure a prohibited steps order would stop it anyway? It SHOULD do.. but in my experience people who don't stick to agreements don't have many qualms not sticking to court orders.

Personally I ask the kids if they did stay in car. Get sol to write to ex saying unacceptable and probably contact the local police sex offender manager team and tell them what's happening but I wouldn't spend a lot of money on a solicitor. Fwiw you can so the application yourself relatively easily without one to save costs.

You're not wrong for worrying you are right to protect your kids. Xx

Good idea about contacting sex offender management team, they usually have conditions the ex BIL has to stick to.