sexual abuse

The mother of children aged 10 and 7 years was in her third long term relationship.  The first relationship commenced when she was aged 18 years and produced 3 children.  The second relationship commenced when the mother was...

Both parties wanted to restrict the child’s relationship with the other to occasional supervised visits, either temporarily or permanently.  It was common ground that the mother had refused to allow the child to spend any time with...

A mother held a genuine strong belief that the father had sexually abused his stepdaughter (the mother’s daughter) when aged 13 years, but the father had been found not guilty in criminal proceedings.   The father had two children aged 7 and...

Paternal grandparents applied for orders to spend time with the parties’ younger children who were twin boys aged 8 years.  Six months after the paternal grandparents had commenced spending regular time with the children, the father applied also to spend time...

The case involved five children who had been placed on the Magellan list due to allegations of sexual abuse and family violence.  The father had a considerable criminal record and had a demonstrated predilection towards having sexual relationships...

A child aged 5 years was ordered to live with the father and spend time with the mother.  The mother’s time with the child had previously been supervised.  The father withheld the child on two occasions, claiming...

Four children had lived with their mother since separation and had recently recommenced spending time with their father.  The mother alleged significant and sustained physical and sexual abuse against both herself and the children but the father denied...

A mother stated that her continuing ability to parent a 5 year old child would be affected if the father spent unsupervised time with the child.  The mother alleged both physical and sexual abuse by the...

The father of children aged 15 and 13 years alleged that his ex-partner’s new husband posed an unacceptable risk of sexual abuse as the new husband was on the sexual offenders register following an incident 7 years...

The father of a girl aged 5 years who acknowledged frequently watching adult pornography was found to have 518 images of child pornography on his computer.  The images were rated using a COPINE scale that showed...

The case involved two children aged 14 and 12 years who lived with their mother and had no contact with their father for two years (contact limited).  The children had an older sister aged 19 years...

A mother was ordered to have supervised access with her child aged 13 years but she found it too difficult to meet conditions set by a contact centre.  The mother had alleged sexual abuse of the...

Parents of children aged 9 and 4 years separated.  The father re-partnered.   Soon after the mother reported that the children exhibited increased anxiety and the mother withheld the children.  The mother demanded that the father participate...

A judge had ordered that children spend time with both separated parents, and that the mother have sole parental responsibility, with the father having contact supervised by an agency.  Supervised contact was ordered as the father...

Both parents migrated from Africa and separated after having a child aged 5 years.  Existing orders were that the child live with the mother and spend time with the father.  The father withheld the child after...

  A mother alleged that two girls aged 3 and 6 years had been subjected to sexual abuse by their father. The mother submitted 169 items of information to support her concerns. The judge found that,...

A child aged 9 years with severe developmental delay had lived predominantly with the mother since separation and spent alternate weekends with the father.  The father requested increased contact after he remarried (re-partnered).  The mother then...

Parents disputed a parenting plan for a 3 year old child. The judge did not allow the father to submit his evidence comprising 1192 pages but requested a summary of 10,000 words. The mother reported observing...

The case involved a father who admitted using pornography but denied any suggestion of using child pornography.   The father had been acquitted of a charge of sexual misconduct involving his niece.  An allegation had been made...

A mother considered that children aged 9 and 6 years had been exposed to sexual abuse by the father. The parents agreed on a single expert witness to conduct a family report.  The expert concluded that...

Parents of a child aged 12 years referred the child to an assessing psychologist following their separation as the child was not coping with the separation.  The psychologist asked the parents to sign a form agreeing that...

A couple had been married for several years and had two daughter aged 7 and 3 years at the time of the hearing.  During one year the father’s own mother died and the father did not...

The case involved allegations that the father had participated in sexual abuse with children aged 7 and 6 years at the time of the hearing.  The parents separated after the mother expressed concern about the way the...

The case involved a boy aged 17 years and a girl aged 14 years whose parents had separated.  When visiting the father, the girl told the father that she had been involved in sexual abuse by her...

A trial judge ordered that a father have sole parental responsibility for a child aged 3 years, and that the child live with the father and spend time with the mother.  The mother was ordered to...

A father applied for unsupervised access of his two children who were a daughter aged 12 years and a son aged 9 years following several years when access had been supervised due to an unsubstantiated allegation...

The parents of a 6 year old girl had a shared care arrangement when the mother alleged that the child had been subject to sexual abuse by the father and paternal grandmother.  The mother applied for...

The parents separated after 3 years of living together and had a daughter aged 6 years who had been living with her mother. When the child was aged 20 months the mother reported that the daughter...

Parents had 3 children aged between 9 and 13 years.  Both parents had health worker qualifications.  There had been conflict before the court for 6 years with 3 final orders having been issued over time.  Each...

The couple had twins aged 6 years at the time of the hearings.  The couple separated when the twins were 7 months old, and the twins lived with the mother and spent time with the father. ...

Two girls were aged 5 and 6 years.  The girls lived with their mother who had chronic schizophrenia and their grandmother.  The mother had a further child aged 14 years who lived with her father.  The...

Following their separation, a mother alleged that their child had been subject to sexual abuse by the father.  The child was aged 9 years at the time of later hearings. In an initial hearing the judge...

The mother had a history of making allegations against various people, including against the father, with one conviction being recorded.  The parents made counter-allegations of violence and abuse.  A consultant reported that the mother apparently gained...

Both parents made reciprocal allegations (mutual accusations) that the other had abused their children aged 8 and 9 years.  The mother alleged that the father sexually abused the children by actions outlined below.  The father alleged...

Parents separated and initially agreed about access arrangements for their child.  On four occasions the mother withheld the child from the father.  The mother then alleged that the father had sexually abused the child and this...

The trial judge ordered that the father have sole parental responsibility for a child, that the child live with the father and visit the mother at the discretion of the father.  The mother appealed the orders....

The case involved an appeal by a mother against orders made by a trial judge.  The couple separated after being together for 7 years and having two children.  In 2000 a judge ordered that the children...

The father had arrived in Australia on a visitor’s visa and sought a visa for permanent residency.  The father had been in relationships with two women (Ms A & Ms D) within a 2 year period and...

The mother of a 3 year old had commenced a relationship with a new partner (re-partnered).  The father asked for an order to prevent their daughter from coming into contact with the mother’s new partner. The...

The case involved an appeal against a decision by a trial judge in a Federal Circuit Court.  Allegations of sexual abuse were made about one child, and it was alleged that the mother had substance abuse...

The Family Law Act refers to ‘reasonable grounds to believe.’  The judge found that facts that provide reasonable grounds for a suspicion or belief do not lead to a positive finding of abuse or violence. Probability...

Twin boys initially lived with their mother and spent time with their father.  The mother alleged that the father has exposed the boys to sexual abuse, leading to his contact being supervised.  The father appealed but...

Parents had lived together for 3 years and had a son aged 4.5 years at the time of the hearing.  A GP observed physical damage to the boy’s rectum.  The boy had a history of difficulty...

The case involved an appeal by a mother of a 6 year old girl against a ruling by a trial judge who found that the risk of sexual abuse did not pass the test of an...

The High Court ruled, “…it is a mistake to think that the Family Court is under the same duty to resolve in a definitive way the disputed allegation of sexual abuse as a court exercising criminal...

A mother alleged that the father had exposed three children to sexual abuse.  Independent assessments did not support this allegation.  The judge gave low weight to results of a psychometric test conducted by an assessing psychologist, but...

A couple had three children aged 7, 6 and 5 years at the time of the rulings.  The parents separated after 5 years of being together, and had been in dispute for at least 3 years. ...

A Court appointed expert assessed a family where a mother made allegations of sexual abuse by the father.  The report was adverse to the mother and the expert made a recommendation that was accepted by the...

After parents separated a child lived with the mother and spent time with the father who lived with a male companion.  The mother alleged that the child was sexually abused and withheld the child from the...

A mother of a child involved in a case denied under oath having  herself been, when a child, a victim of horrific repeated rape by her brother over many years.  The judge considered the mother denied...