Could Custody Be Changed Because the Custodial Parent is Married to a Sex Offender

My question involves a child custody case from the State of:Idaho
My offense was not against my step son (it was targeted against a teen female, and that is my risk population). I have completed SO treatment, and my treatment provider had called the ex to advise there was no risk to his son. We also entered into an agreement, prompted by the ex, so i would agree not to be with the son alone. My PO has no issue with me living with my wife and step son.

But, the Ex, who by the way physically beat my wife (hence their divorce) and was arrested at the time for domestic abuse, is terrorizing my wife and telling her what a lousy mother she is and how he's going to take her son away.

I want to be realistic with my wife and not have her lose her son over me.

We're trying to rebuild our lives, and I'm doing what I need to stay away from what got me in trouble before.

Any thoughts on this situation?? thank you.

Unfortunately you've been a little vague - what EXACTLY was the offense, and what was the actual sentence?

And how long ago?

These things will matter :)

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Unfortunately you've been a little vague - what EXACTLY was the offense, and what was the actual sentence?

And how long ago?

These things will matter :)

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enticement of a minor via the internet was the offense ... 4 years ago, and served about 3 years for it

How long have you and Mom been living together?

we've been married for 7 years, with about half of these before i went to serve my sentence .. with the entirety of that time with her son.

Ah...so you married her, then the offense occurred, and you've been out for about a year?

Well, if Dad didn't find out until recently you might have a problem on your hands.

However if he knew the entire time and didn't do anything about, he's likely out of luck. I wish there was a more definitive answer, but in some cases it's a complete crap shoot as to how a judge will view the situation. It might be worth your wife having a chat with a local attorney anyway - s/he will know the local climate and be familiar with how the local courts tend to rule.

here's the timeline more precisely though ... we got married and lived happily wityh step son for several years ... then the offense happened ... while i was awaiting sentencing we signed an agreement with the ex that i would not be alone with the son ... then i went off to be a guest of the gov't ... during that time i completed SO treatment ... now I am out and my wife and i are not yet physically together. i've gotten the job situation set and a place for us to stay ... the PO has given the ok for all of us to live together and we're attempting that next step ... enter the ex .. i agree though that a local attorney will likely have the best view on this. it is kind of crazy as when the ex beat her, it was to try and get her to miscarry ... i own my offense and am not proud of it, but this guy is still trying to control her

Then...yes, I think there may be a problem.

Mom should speak with an attorney - even if the agreement wasn't actually filed in court (and if it was there's a question of enforceability but that's a whole different issue), Dad can make her life VERY difficult.

the agreement was filed in court, and it was initiated by the ex and then accepted by the ex. i guess i'm trying to think of what the change in circumstance would be between then and now that would give cause for a modification ... we we're all living together then, i had already been arrested, charged and pled to the charge ... now i've completed my treatment ...

The change of circumstance would be you moving in with Mom - against the court order.

Now, Mom can try and have the order modified herself...but honestly, she needs to be calling attorneys ASAP. I'm aware of a couple of instances in which such a clause was deemed unenforceable after sentencing was completed (and hence the clause was removed) but it took some finagling to actually convince the court.

Good luck - I think this might be a bit of an uphill battle.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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The change of circumstance would be you moving in with Mom - against the court order.

Now, Mom can try and have the order modified herself...but honestly, she needs to be calling attorneys ASAP. I'm aware of a couple of instances in which such a clause was deemed unenforceable after sentencing was completed (and hence the clause was removed) but it took some finagling to actually convince the court.

Good luck - I think this might be a bit of an uphill battle.

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the agreement/court order with the ex that was filed said that it was ok for the mom, the step son and I to continue living together (this is what the ex agreed to before sentencing) it only gave the requirement that i would not be alone with the stepson.

I suppose I was lax in not asking exactly how the order was written, to begin with. Sorry about that!

If the situation is basically returning to how it was before you were incarcerated, and that Dad was ok with you living together, that's several points in Mom's favor if Dad decides to press the issue. It would seem a little unfair for him to use that against her now.

However - because of the nature of the situation, it's still worth having chat with a local attorney who can gauge the court's climate.

Good luck - I can see you're trying to get your lives back on track and wish you all well.

thanks for your feedback. my wife is contacting a local attorney. i hope the message is clear to anyone reading this read (you other husband's and father's out there) .. stay away from getting involved with this stuff (the internet stuff) .. the ripple effect on your family's will be horrible!! regaining trust with the community is possible, but it's a long, long battle, and it will never be what it was before.