Christopher Mirasolo, the 24-year-old rapist, filed for joint custody of his rape victim's child who he fathered. [Courtesy of Michigan Department of Corrections]
Michigan Judge Gregory S. Ross rescinded his order granting Christopher Mirasolo, a 27-year-old rapist, the joint custody of his rape victim's child.
Previously Judge Ross granted the custody after a DNA test confirmed that Mirasolo fathered his rape victim's child. It caused a huge outcry of anger when the story was reported on news media.
Mirasolo raped a 12-year-old girl nine years ago in September 2008. He kidnapped the victim, her 13-year-old sister, and her friend his car. He held them captive and raped the victim. Then Mirasolo threatened his victim that if she told anyone of what happened, he would kill her.
The victim got pregnant and gave birth to a boy who is now 8 years old.
Mirasolo was arrested a month later and was charged for attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He got an early release to care for his sick mother after only serving six and a half months in jail.
He did not stop and assaulted another minor in 2010. He served four years in jail for his second offense. After getting out from jail, Mirasolo filed to obtain joint custody of his rape victim's son.
When Judge Ross handled the order, he thought it was an ordinary paternity and custody case. However, after his decision caused a major public outcry from the community, he realized that there was more to the case file.
After the initial order, the victim's attorney, Rebecca Kiessling, told the Detroit News, "This is insane. Nothing has been right about this since it was originally investigated. He was never properly charged and should still be sitting behind bars somewhere, but the system is victimizing my client, who was a child herself when this all happened."
The victim who is now 21 years old filed objections last Friday and planned to use her protection right under the federal Rape Survivor Child Custody Act for a hearing scheduled on October 25.
After learning the mistake, Sanilac County Prosecutor James Young said in a statement that he wanted to "express our apologies for the manner in which this case was handled."
About 100 people gathered in front of the courthouse on Tuesday to protest including both rape victims of Mirasolo.
Kwak, Min Jung = abiel@ajunews.com
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