Possible Michigan Rapist Custody Case Settlement

A tentative settlement has been reached with a woman who has been ordered to share custody of her 8-year-old son with the man that raped her when she was just 12 years old. Sanilac County Circuit Court Family Judge Gregory Ross and the Sanilac County prosecutor’s office made the deal to give 27-year-old Christopher Mirasolo joint legal custody and parenting time without ever notifying the young mother who is now 21. In fact the victim was ordered to return to Michigan so the little boy could be within 100 miles of his rapist father.

Mirasolo raped the girl when she was 12 and he was 19. Under Michigan law, that should have resulted in a sentence of 25 years to life, but after a plea deal he spent only six and a half months in jail. Two years later he raped another girl, this time the victim was 15 and once again Mirasolo skated with a plea deal. The second time around he spent four years in prison, but he is back on the streets today.

The victim says her life has been torn apart again, but this time by a legal system that steamrolled her rights, “This has been another nightmare and I just want it to end,” she said. “I want this Judge to make his findings permanent and to give me and my son complete vindication,” she added.

It is a story that has provoked outrage across the nation and around the world. Petitions are being circulated on line demanding Judge Ross be removed from his position. Assistant Prosecutor Eric Scott however continues to say his office did nothing wrong according to the victim's attorney Rebecca Kiessling.

Kiessling says she is hopeful the deal put forth will put the matter behind her client and keep other rape victims from being traumatized by reckless court rulings in the future. “We still need to iron out details,” Kiessling said and then added, “We won’t make a deal until we get everything we want. We have to make sure this can never be reversed.” Kiessling said her client is also demanding that every point of The Rape Survivor Child Custody Act is covered, including clear language that her client's son was conceived by non-consensual penetration, that guarantees the rapist surrenders all rights to the child, his name is removed from the birth certificate, and all legal rights are permanently revoked.

Kiessling, who was a child born of rape, says she cannot imagine being forced to deal with the rapist for any reason and made it perfectly clear that it’s all or nothing, “if we don’t get everything we want then we will go ahead with our hearing date which is set for October 25th,” she said.

A rally set in support of the victim will be held that day either way and the victim plans to speak in public for the first time. The rally will be held at the Sanilac County Courthouse at 1pm. Both women that were sexually assaulted by the rapist will be there to discuss their experiences and how to protect others from being mistreated by the system as well.