‘Absolutely ecstatic': Mother welcomes Scottish Government review of parental rights for sex offenders

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The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said the move was a “step forward” for non-offending parents who fear their children could be placed at risk.

Her ex-husband was arrested and charged with possessing indecent images of children.

She says she was left to “pick up the pieces” after the shock of his crime and also discovering that his parental rights had not automatically been removed giving him access to their children.

She told LBC: “I'm absolutely ecstatic about it. I realise that it's just a review, but it's one step forward from where we were at the start of this process.”

The mother said she became involved in the campaign after seeing coverage of another family facing a similar situation.

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She carried out her own research and contacted solicitors but was repeatedly told that her ex-husband retained his parental rights.

“Almost everybody that you talk to is shocked that this is the system and that they do retain their rights,” she said.

Under the current system, the mother says an offender can be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting contact with other children while still retaining parental rights to their own children.

She described that as a “loophole”, saying non-offending parents can be forced into lengthy and costly court proceedings over contact.

“My real problem with that is, why should an offending parent have the same rights as a non-offending parent?” she said.

She said the issue had come as a shock to her after her ex-husband's arrest.

“When this all happened and my husband was charged and he was obviously removed from the household, I thought that was it, my children were automatically protected,” she said.

Instead, she said she was told by police, social work and solicitors that this was not necessarily the case.

“To be told ... that that just wasn't the case was an absolute gut punch, to be honest,” she said.

“As a mother, you want to protect your children and you want to keep them safe.”

The woman has two children, aged seven and four, and said her ex-husband had been found to have viewed images and videos involving children aged between three and 13.

She said she remains deeply worried about whether her children could have been involved.

Police officers carrying out a search took photographs of the children's bedrooms as part of their investigation.

She has been assured so far that her children were not involved, but said forensic work remains outstanding.

“It’s a constant, like an absolute constant worry in my head that someone is going to come to the door and say, well, actually, we have found something,” she said. “And I don’t think that worry will ever leave me.”

Her MP, Scottish Labour’s Graeme Downie, has campaigned alongside her for a change in the law.

He said: “My constituent was just trying to protect her child, and the law wasn't on her side as it should have been.”

Mr Downie said he had been “astonished” that ministers initially failed to recognise the impact of the situation, but the announcement of a review represents a significant change.

“Finally this week, the new minister has confirmed that the Scottish Government will undertake a review of the current legal position, recognising that in many situations it may be in the child's best interests for a convicted parent not to automatically hold parental rights and responsibilities,” he said.

Victims Minister Kirsten Oswald said the Scottish Government was grateful to survivors and families who had come forward.

“These cases are deeply distressing and, in many circumstances, it will be in a child's best interests for a convicted parent not to hold parental responsibilities and rights which is why we have confirmed that we will undertake a review of the law,” she said.

Ms Oswald said Scotland's civil courts already have powers to remove some or all parental responsibilities and rights, with the welfare of the child the “paramount consideration”.

The mother said her ex-husband has accepted a police undertaking, but has not yet been sentenced and forensic investigations have not been completed.

She said she has refused contact between him and their children, but has been warned that this could count against her in court.

“Even though in my head I'm protecting my children, as the system stands now I'm being seen as not doing what's in the best interest of my child,” she said.

She believes the views of the non-offending parent should play a greater role in decisions about contact.

“If their children are not old enough to consent or understand what the offending parent has done, then that automatically has to follow me and what I think is in the best interest of my child,” she said.

She also raised concerns about rules already operating in England and Wales, where there is a presumption that contact can be restricted or removed in certain circumstances.

She said the rules there are linked to custodial sentences of four years or more, which she believes could leave some children unprotected when offenders receive shorter sentences.

She said any changes in Scotland should therefore go further.

“My children aren't fully protected by that either because I know my ex-husband isn't going to be sentenced to four or more years custodial sentence,” she said.

She believes parental rights should at least be restricted where someone is convicted of a sexual offence involving children, potentially through supervised contact.

“I understand that parents love their children, but you're not putting your child first if you're committing any sort of sexual offence, especially towards children,” she said.

For her, the announcement of the review represents a rare sense of hope after what she described as an isolating experience.

“When this happened for me, I just felt like I was the only one going through it because there isn't any sort of support in place,” she said.

“I felt completely alone and silenced, and now to have been listened to, it just feels amazing.”

Mr Downie said the campaign was not over, but insisted the law needed to reflect the experiences of survivors and their families.

“I always think about that constituent when she first came to me,” he said. “She turned one of the most painful chapters of her life into a campaign that will protect other children and families across Scotland.”

He described the review as “a huge step forward by the Scottish Government” and said the announcement was “a win for parents like my constituent and their children who fought so hard to be heard”.

He added: “It's not over just yet, but let's be clear, no child should be put at risk because the law hasn't caught up with what survivors already know.”