Visitation rights in rapest case

Case of rapist seeking visitation of child he fathered during assault reaches high court | Fox News

I can't remember if we did this or something similar a while back.

Do you feel the father should get visitation in this situation?

I don't really know enough about the laws to make a decision, but because it was statutory rape I wonder if that makes a difference?

The fact that it was statutory rape rather than felony sexual assault could simply be that the DA was willing to go for the known conviction without putting the victim through the trauma of testifying rather than risk acquittal on more serious charges. But this sounds to me like a boyfriend-gone-bad situation. If you click through to the full story, it says that in September 2011, the victim and her parents agreed to the plea bargain, which included a sentence of 16 years of probation and the payment of child support through the family court system. Statutory rape in Massachusetts with more than 5 years' age difference is a minimum 10-year prison sentence, by my quick Googling, so this sounds to me like buyer's remorse on the part of the girl and/or her parents. The girl loves him, has his baby, and doesn't want him to go to prison so they sign off on the plea agreement, but now that he's seeking his lawful visitation rights, suddenly he's the persona non grata. You can't have it both ways. With the information in just these two articles, I say, he should get visitation rights.

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Originally Posted by Spacers

The fact that it was statutory rape rather than felony sexual assault could simply be that the DA was willing to go for the known conviction without putting the victim through the trauma of testifying rather than risk acquittal on more serious charges. But this sounds to me like a boyfriend-gone-bad situation. If you click through to the full story, it says that in September 2011, the victim and her parents agreed to the plea bargain, which included a sentence of 16 years of probation and the payment of child support through the family court system. Statutory rape in Massachusetts with more than 5 years' age difference is a minimum 10-year prison sentence, by my quick Googling, so this sounds to me like buyer's remorse on the part of the girl and/or her parents. The girl loves him, has his baby, and doesn't want him to go to prison so they sign off on the plea agreement, but now that he's seeking his lawful visitation rights, suddenly he's the persona non grata. You can't have it both ways. With the information in just these two articles, I say, he sOhould get visitation rights.

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I'm not sure what you mean by not having it both ways. CS and visitation are two separate things. Just because a parent may lose rights (due to drug abuse or history of abuse, etc.) doesn't mean the court vacates the order for CS.

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Originally Posted by Spacers

The fact that it was statutory rape rather than felony sexual assault could simply be that the DA was willing to go for the known conviction without putting the victim through the trauma of testifying rather than risk acquittal on more serious charges. But this sounds to me like a boyfriend-gone-bad situation. If you click through to the full story, it says that in September 2011, the victim and her parents agreed to the plea bargain, which included a sentence of 16 years of probation and the payment of child support through the family court system. Statutory rape in Massachusetts with more than 5 years' age difference is a minimum 10-year prison sentence, by my quick Googling, so this sounds to me like buyer's remorse on the part of the girl and/or her parents. The girl loves him, has his baby, and doesn't want him to go to prison so they sign off on the plea agreement, but now that he's seeking his lawful visitation rights, suddenly he's the persona non grata. You can't have it both ways. With the information in just these two articles, I say, he should get visitation rights.

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I tend to think this as well.

I meant having it both ways in that she (her parents, actually) agreed to a plea bargain which gave him probation instead of prison time, which would result in him NOT losing his parental rights, and are now complaining when he chooses to exercise his parental rights. The parents had the chance to put him away and/or strip him of his parental rights in that proceeding and they chose not to. Now he wants to be a father to his child and they don't want him to be. Sour grapes.

However, there seems to be a lot of discordant information about this case. One articel says he was 17, another that he was 20. One says he knew the girl for three years before they had sex, another says the sex happened right away but he wasn't identified as the father for three years. One article says the parents & victim not only agreed to the plea bargain but were the ones who asked for it when the DA was pursuing a 3-7 year sentence. Some of this information might sway me in a different way, but for now, I'm sticking with my above thoughts.

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Originally Posted by Spacers

I meant having it both ways in that she (her parents, actually) agreed to a plea bargain which gave him probation instead of prison time, which would result in him NOT losing his parental rights, and are now complaining when he chooses to exercise his parental rights. The parents had the chance to put him away and/or strip him of his parental rights in that proceeding and they chose not to. Now he wants to be a father to his child and they don't want him to be. Sour grapes.

However, there seems to be a lot of discordant information about this case. One articel says he was 17, another that he was 20. One says he knew the girl for three years before they had sex, another says the sex happened right away but he wasn't identified as the father for three years. One article says the parents & victim not only agreed to the plea bargain but were the ones who asked for it when the DA was pursuing a 3-7 year sentence. Some of this information might sway me in a different way, but for now, I'm sticking with my above thoughts.

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Those oher details definitely change how I feel....if she was 14 and he was 20 at the time, and it happened almost immediately, I would want to terminate his parental rights. It doesn't sound so much as sour grapes as it does bad legal advice.

This is from another article dated 10/11, but I couldn't find the outcome:

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Jamie Melendez received 16 years of probation when he pleaded guilty to four counts of statutory rape last year. Now he wants visitation rights with the child he fathered after the crime.

The probation department wants to send him to prison for violating his probation. He is charged in Dedham District Court with four counts of credit card fraud, which his attorney says may violate his probation depending on the timing of events. Court records show he's accused of stealing a credit card from his friend's mother, where he was staying, and buying hundreds of dollars of electronics.

Melendez allegedly committed two of the crimes the same week last year that he pleaded guilty to the rape charges. The other probation violations include leaving the state without permission and failing to register as a sex offender.

Today's hearing in Middlesex Superior Court into whether to revoke his probation on the rape charge and send him to prison was continued until Oct. 25.



Read more: Rapist facing new charges, still wants visitation - Boston News, Weather, Sports | FOX 25 | MyFoxBoston

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Is a registered sex offender allowed to have contact with minors other than supervised visits?

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Originally Posted by ethanwinfield

This is from another article dated 10/11, but I couldn't find the outcome:


Is a registered sex offender allowed to have contact with minors other than supervised visits?

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It depends on the time frame. My cousin was charged and plead guilty to statutory rape (she was 15 he was 18 when they first got together) they had a baby together and he was not allowed any contact with the baby while on probation. My uncle stayed super involved and now that probation is over they have gotten back together and are now living together

I never said his visitation couldn't or shouldn't be supervised, only that he should be allowed visitation. If his plea agreement required registration as a sex offender and he didn't do it, then that's another question. To that question, I would say no, he doesn't deserve visitation if he is not fulfilling his obligations under the plea agreement.