Paedophiles may be stripped of parental rights under new law

PAEDOPHILES convicted of serious sexual offences are to lose their parental rights under a proposed law change.

Under current rules, offenders’ rights as parents trump the protection of their children, which means they can still have a right to be included when making important decisions about their child’s education, health and travel.

An amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill tabled by Harriet Harman, the Labour MP, and backed by Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, will create a presumption that paedophiles guilty of the most serious offences should be barred from automatic parental rights.

The new law will cover only the rape of a child under 13, which is the most serious sexual offence, but Ms Harman said the rule could be “extended” to include sexual offences against children in the future. Ms Harman proposed the change after being told of a case where a mother had to spend £30,000 in legal fees to stop her paedophile former husband getting access to their daughter.

The Labour MP said the “major and significant” law change was necessary to address the “glaring anomaly” of courts protecting other people’s children from child sex offenders but not the offender’s own.

Ms Harman told Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s the rights of the child that should be at the forefront, not the rights of the father … It’s the courts and the law that should step forward to protect children, not leave it to the mother, if she can, to go to court.”

Asked why she thought the parental rights of convicted child sex offenders had been protected until now, Ms Harman blamed the “old hangover of the patriarchy, which is that the father somehow has proprietorial rights”. Ms Harman praised a pilot scheme, which allows accredited journalists and legal bloggers to report on family courts cases, for highlighting the “anomaly”.

In the case, highlighted by the BBC, a woman’s ex-husband was barred from contact with all children except his own after he had been found guilty of serious paedophile offences.

Even in prison he retained rights over his daughter’s education, health and travel, causing problems when the mother, known as Bethan, planned a holiday abroad.

In November, Cardiff Family Court ruled in Bethan’s favour and restricted the father’s rights. He is now forbidden from any contact with his daughter until she turns 18.

Bethan’s case was relatively straightforward, but left her with £30,000 in legal fees.