Legal Question in Criminal Law in Illinois

my x-husbands mother married a convicted child sex offender and my x-husband thinks it is ok to take our 11year old son and 15 year old daughter to their house. my question is can the felon legally be around my children? can I do something to keep my kids away from him?


Asked on 1/15/10, 3:52 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Bruce Burdick Burdick Law Firm

That is a family law question not a criminal law question. Probably your ex is right, as long as your ex is there in control and does not leave the kids alone with the "convicted child sex offender". After all, they are HIS kids, too, and at 11 and 15 probably are able to know if this "convicted child sex offender" tries anything improper. What can you do? Well, you can go to your local family law judge and ask for a restraining order to stop this and it will depend on the facts and how they are presented to the Judge. Whether the "felon" can be around your kids depends on what he was specifically convicted of and what restraints were placed on him. You should be able to call your local state's attorney, give him the name of the "felon" and ask him to let you know if this violates any restriction on the felon. That has the added advantage that if the state's attorney agrees with you, the state's attorney can quickly assist in getting you a restraining order. My guess, without knowing more, is that your husband is right. Please don't put your kids in the middle of your conflicts with your ex and don't use the kids as a weapon to get at him. Only if they are really at risk should you be raising this issue. Many convicted child sex offenders are so scared of getting in trouble again that they are safer than the average person, but that obviously depends on the individual. By all means protect your children, but never use them as weapons.

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Answered on 1/20/10, 5:29 pm


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