The judge claimed he didn't know Christopher Mirasolo had two criminal sexual conduct convictions - including one stemming from an attack on the boy's mom.
A Michigan judge has rescinded his decision to grant a convicted sex offender custody of the child, who was born out of an attack on a 12-year-old girl in 2008.
Christopher Mirasolo, 27, was originally awarded joint custody of the boy, who is now 8, by Judge Gregory S. Ross after DNA testing established he was the biological father.
But Ross on Tuesday changed his ruling so that Mirasolo won’t have any parental rights.
He will, however, continue to pay child support.
The judge said he did not know Mirasolo had two criminal sexual conduct convictions — including one stemming from an attack on the mother of the boy — when he issued his original ruling, Michigan Supreme Court spokesman John Nevin told The Associated Press.
Read: Sex Offender Who Allegedly Raped Girl, 12, Gets Joint Custody of Her Child
“The question that everyone is asking is, ‘How could a judge do such a thing?’” Ross wrote in regard to his original ruling in his decision, which he read in court, the Port Huron Times Herald reported. “The answer is that this judge was not aware, did not have knowledge of the fact that the defendant raped the plaintiff and the child was born as a result.
“The Family Division of the Circuit Court will be reviewing its procedures also,” Ross wrote. “This should not happen to anyone.”
Ross said he was presented with a paternity petition, which he reviewed, and there was nothing unusual in the order.
The order was prepared by the Sanilac County prosecutor’s office, which told CBS This Morning that it prepared a standard order it used in all paternity cases and that the mother was required to cooperate as a condition of receiving financial assistance.
Read: Pregnant Through Rape, Women Are Forced To Share Child Custody With Their Attackers
“I was receiving government assistance and they told me if I did not tell them who the father was of my child, that they would take that away from me,” the mother, Tiffany, told CBS News.
Tiffany, who asked CBS News not to use her last name, said she was 12 when Mirasolo forced himself on her in an abandoned house near Detroit, where he held her captive for two days.
“I don’t understand why they thought they needed to give him joint legal custody," she said. "He was my rapist.”
The Sanilac County prosecutor's office said it plans to conduct an internal review of how cases like Tiffany’s are handled and make any appropriate changes.
Watch: Accused Rapist Comments On Police Facebook Page's Wanted Post: Cops
