What rights do children of offenders have?

[worriedmom]

What rights do the biological children of registered sex offenders have in the state of Alabama? I am divorced from the father and have two children ages 5 and 7 and at the moment and trying to keep my children from any further emotional and physical upheaval but as I understand it unless he(the father) consents to no visitation, my children are required by law to visit with their father. The problem is that my son is experiencing stress after the visitation and has told me he would rather not see his father. He has lost a brother and step-sister because of this because of the nature of the crime and I don't have the financial wherewithal to fund a psychologist and a good attorney.
What can I do as a single parent to pursue the relinquishment of the father's rights to see the children? There is also currently an enormous amount of attention being paid to the fact that there are so many offenders living in this area currently and in fact, his picture along with his crime was part of a local T.V. series on offenders and as my children share his last name and we live in a relatively small community, I feel that there should be some way in which I can shield them. Please send any contributions or cite anything that might be helpful, thank you.

[elklaw]

I do not know where you are at, but contact a Legal Services Organization office and contact a local bar association to see if an attorney might take your case pro bono. If not, see if an attorney will have a free consultation with you to assist you in learning what you need to file to seek a modification of child support. Also, if you believe that contact with the father is negative for the children, seek a modification of the custody arrangement in the court. You seem like a motivated parent who likely could file the paperwork for this on your own and effectively represent yourself in court. The court may select a guardian ad litem for the children who would report to the court, or depending on the childrens' ages, the judge may speak with them directly to see what their wishes are. Ultimately, it is your decision what to do, but if you feel your kids are being harmed by having contact with their father, I hope these ideas will help you in formulating a plan of action.

[david.carol]

First of all I know what your are going thru. cause I am there myself. Thankfully I got sole custody of my children before my ex went to jail. I also live in a small town and it was not easy living down the shame that my children were subject to. Sex offenders are not allowed to be in contact with minors, regardless of whether or not they are the biological fathers. Your children have the same rights as other children to not be subject to presence of sex offenders. I personnaly would never take my young children to a prison for visits. Criminals do not have the same rights has law abidding citizens, most especially sex offenders. the moments my ex got convicted his rights were considered terminated. you really do not need a lawyer to present your case. You should be able to research the rights of children and be able to convince a judge the best interest for your children