Registered Sex Offender is Given Custody to an 8 Year Old Child

Christopher Mirasolo

In a surprising and quite shocking turn of events, a convicted sex offender was given joint custody of a young boy who was conceived as a result of a rape crime involving a 12 year old girl and the convicted sex offender.  27 year old Michigan man Christopher Mirasolo was awarded custody to the now 8 year old boy by Judge Gregory Ross of the Sanilac County in Michigan.  Christopher Mirasolo was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading a no contest to the attempted third degree criminal sexual conduct for the alleged assault on the then 12 year old girl back in September 2008.

What is more disturbing is that prior to the ruling for joint custody of the conceived 8 year old boy, Mirasolo was also charged for a non-related sexual assault lawsuit against a 15 year old girl back in March 2010, just two years after the rape assault charges on the 12 year old girl.  The sex offender spent over 4 years in prison for the sexual assault charge after pleading no contest to both the third and fourth degree sexual assault claims.  The Huffington Post reports that the third degree criminal sexual assault charge was categorized as a statutory rape charge.  The 2010 sexually assaulted victim made it clear, according to the Detroit News, that Christopher Mirasolo should not be allowed anywhere near children without supervision and that custody of any children must be no.

The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act

Rebecca Kiessling, the lawyer for the then 12 year old girl, is currently seeking protection for her client under a recent statute called the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act.  This law is intended to protect the children conceived as a result of a rape by giving states the power to terminate the parental rights of the “rapist who conceives a child when there is a clear and convincing evidence of the crime.”  Last year in 2016, the state of Michigan created and signed its own version of the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act into law.  Kiessling is hoping the state will be able to terminate Chirstopher Mirasolo’s parental rights.

How Could This Have Happened?

Apart from the arguments presented by the victim, what is most surprising is how the fact that the defendant is a sex offender could have evaded the knowledge of Judge Gregory Ross.  The judge, after discovering the Mirasolo’s status, immediately placed his order on hold.  The Sanilac County prosecutor’s office commented that it had prepared “a standard order that is used in all paternity cases and that the mother was required to cooperate as a condition of receiving financial assistance.”  Since the order was signed off, Mirasolo was apparently allowed the right to pursue parenting time.  Nonetheless, the mistakes made by the court and prosecutor’s office could have resulted in a horrific outcome.