Can a father that has been incarcerated since child was 4 weeks old and charged with child pornography get visitation?
We were not married and paternity has not been established. He gets out in two months and is going to fight me for visitation and establish paternity. He has prior conviction of aggravated robbery and now will be a registered sex offender. He has not seen son since he was 4 weeks old and he is now 14 months old. A judge let me change my child’s last name due to circumstances. Can I terminate his rights or keep him from have visitation with my child? His paternal grandparents are going to fight for visitation too once paternity has been established and they don’t have a relationship with my child as well.
Arkansas Courts do not allow for “termination” of parental rights. If you child’s father files a petition for paternity, and if he is in fact the biological father, an order will be entered that will also establish custody, support and visitation. You can certainly fight visitation and, because of his conviction, the Court may agree that visitation is not in the child’s best interest. Should visitation be awarded, though, it would almost certainly be supervised visitation.
You have not mentioned that you are married. If you have since married, you have a strong case for terminating the father’s right the legal way–by having your husband adopt your child. Even if the biological father contests such an action, the Courts will be looking for what is in the best interest of the child and a stable father without a conviction for child pornography would be preferred. Please talk to an attorney in your area experienced in family law.
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