Can a convicted sex offender exercise parental responsibility?

In short, yes. A Trainee Solicitor, in the family team Sashina Thapa explains the current law and proposals for reform.

A person convicted of a serious sexual offence against a child can still exercise parental responsibility

As the law stands, a person convicted of a serious sexual offence is automatically placed on the sex offender register. This means the convicted person is restricted from working with or being around children. Surprisingly however, the law does not extend to their own children over whom they still exercise parental responsibility despite their serious conviction(s).

In November 2023, the BBC reported on the case of Bethan – a mother who spent circa £30,000 on legal fees to prevent her ex-husband, who had been convicted of serious sexual offences, from being involved in their daughter’s upbringing and having contact. Bethan was married to the father at the time of their daughter’s birth and his name was registered on her birth certificate. This meant he retained his parental rights – despite his conviction. For Bethan, this meant the father had a say over their daughter’s health, education and living arrangements. After the father’s sentencing Bethan sought to restrict his contact with their daughter due to genuine safeguarding concerns. She applied to the Court to remove the father’s parental rights and ban direct and indirect contact until their daughter attained the age of 18 years of age. In this case, the Court considered the mother’s application to be justified, and the father’s parental responsibility was comprehensively restricted.

Baroness Harriet Harman has proposed change to parental responsibility law

Hearing about this reported case, Baroness Harriet Harman pursued the opportunity for legal reform and as a result an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill was tabled by the government which meant when someone who has committed a serious sexual offence against a child is sentenced, their ability to make decisions about their own children’s lives will also be suspended.

Parental responsibility is defined as being responsible for the decision making in their child’s lives. This includes day to day decisions, as well as bigger decisions such as medical decisions, and where they should live.

A mother automatically has parental responsibility for her child from birth. Fathers does not, however, they obtain parental responsibility in the following four ways:

1. being named on the birth certificate;
2. marriage to the child’s mother;
3. by a court order giving the father parental responsibility; and
4. through a parental responsibility agreement.

Under the proposed rules parents convicted of serious offences will “automatically be deprived” of their parental rights

This is a positive reform for the protective parent who will no longer have to apply to the Court to obtain this outcome and incur thousands of pounds in legal fees as legal aid is not available for these types of applications.

Although the media has framed this as the loss of parental rights, the more accurate term to use is that the perpetrator will no longer have any say over key elements of a child’s life – including whether they can access therapeutic support, go on holiday or change

The proposed changes to the law, will not prevent the convicted parent from making an application to Court to exercise their parental rights

For example, on an application to change schools, a child’s surname or from going on holiday, the convicted parent can, in theory, still oppose. The convicted parent was also not be prevented from making a future application to lift the suspension of their parental rights; and if restored would be at the discretion of the court. However, the family court does already have the power of preventing a parent from repeatedly bringing issues back before the court as a form of abuse through measures such as a Section 91(14) Order. These orders prohibit an individual from making further applications without the court’s permission, for example in cases where a perpetrator may seek to repeatedly bring a victim back to court as a means of perpetuating their abuse.

The proposed changes which is seen as a protective remedy, is anticipated to become law next year although no date has yet been timetabled for implementation by the government.

For more information on restricting or obtaining parental responsibility, please contact Linda Pope.

The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.