Mother and Father Banned From Living Within 10km Of Their Child

The family court has banned a mother and father from living within 10km of their nine-year-old son, deeming them a bad influence.

How did it get so bad? As a baby, the boy was abandoned in his stroller by his father during a police chase. As a toddler, the boy and his older brother were regularly taken to Sydney’s red light disctrict on drug-buying sprees and when he was six, his mother gave him two black eyes in a beating, the court heard.

A psychologist who studied the child reported the nine-year-old boy tormented animals, made physical threats to family members and showed no remorse.

Yet despite this crappy upbringing, the mother sought custody, claiming her middle child was just a “live wire.”

Fortunately, custody was awarded to the the child’s maternal grandmother, where the boy has been living some semblance of a normal life, even receiving a “most improved” award at school.

His elder brother, now 15, has lived with his maternal grandmother for most of his life and the couple’s third child, a baby, is in the care of the Department of Community Services.

Justice Graham Mullane, sitting in the Family Court at Newcastle, branded the mother and father as “toxic”. He said if the boy went to live with them, he would become more anti-social, more anti-authoritarian and end up a criminal, like his father who has a 27-year record including armed robbery and drug dealing.

In addition to awarding custody to the grandmother, he ordered the boy’s parents not to live within 10km of their son, go within 200m of his school or talk to him by telephone. They can see him only briefly four times a year with supervision.

Sad, but it sounds like the best decision under the circumstances. Let’s hope it’s not too late to turn the child’s chances around.

[Source]