An Act To Establish Child Custody and Domestic Violence . Presumptions
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1143
Sponsors: MORRISON, RUSSELL, BLISS, BOLAND, FLAHERTY, HARLOW, KAENRATH, SMITH, STEVENS, STRANG BURGESS
Amends: 19-A MRSA §1653

Legislative Document 
No. 1143 
H.P.787 
House of Representatives, March 23, 
An Act To Establish Child Custody and Domestic Violence 
. Presumptions 
Reference to the Committee' on JUdiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative MORRISON of South Portland. 
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In·mac~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representative RUSSELL ofPOltland, Senator BLISS of Cumberland and 
Representatives: BOLAND of Sanford, FLAHERTY of Scarborough, HARLOW of Portland, 
KAENRATH of South Portland, MacDONALD of Boothbay, SMITH of Monmouth, 
STEVENS of Bangor, STRANG BURGESS of Cumberland. 
Printed on recycled pilpcr 
2. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 19-A MRSA §1653,sub-§3, ~H, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B,§2 
and affected by Pt. E. §2, is amended to read: 
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H. The capacity of each parent to a:llow and encourage frequent and continuing 
contact between the child. and the other parent, including physical access, except that 
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the court may not consider this capacity if one parent shows that the other parent has 
engaged in domestic' abuse against the parent or a child and that continuing contact 
with the· other parent will endanger the health or safety of either the parent or the 
child; 
Sec. 2. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub..;§6, as enacted by"PL 1995, c. 694, Pt. B, §2 and 
affected by Pt. E, §2, is amended to read: 
6. Conditions of parental rights and responsibilities and parent-child contact in 
cases involving' domestic abuse. 
The court shall' award· parental rights and 
responsibilities and establish conditions of parent-child contact in cases involving 
. domestic abuse as follows. 
A. A court may award primary residence of a minor child Qr parent child contact 
v/ith a minor child to a parent v/ho has committed domestic abuse only if the court 
finds that contact bet'.veen the parent and child is in the best interest of the child and 
that' adequate provision for the safety of the child and the parent who is a victim of 
domestic abuse can be made. 
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A-i. There is a rebuttable presumption that a parent who has a history of perpetrating 
domestic abuse may not be awarded sole or joint parental rights arid responsibilities 
with regard to a child. The court may find a history of perpetrating tlomestic abuse if 
the court finds that one incident of domestic abuse has resulted in serious bodily 
injUry or the court finds more than one incident of domestic abuse. The presumption 
may be rebutted only by a preponderance of the evidence that the perpetrating parent 
has successfully completed a batterers' intervention treatment program and is not 
abusing alcohol or illegally using drugs. and that the best interest of the child requires 
that parent's participation because of the other parent's absence or substance abuse or 
other circumstances that affect the best interest of the child. The fact that the abused 
parent suffers . from the effects of the abuse is not grounds for denying that parent 
primary residence. 
Subsection 3. paragraph H may not be used to rebut this 
presumption. 
A-2. If the court fmds that both parents have a history of perpetrating domestie 
abuse. sole parental rights and responsibilities must be awarded to the parent who is 
less likely to continue to perpetrate domestic abuse as demonstrated by an absence or 
lesser history of such abuse. In such a case. the court shall mandate completion of a 
batterers' intervention treatment program by the parent with sole parental rights and 
responsibilities. 
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A-3. If the court finds that a parent has a. history of perpetrating domestic abuse, the 
court shall allow only supervised parent-child contact with that parent. conditioned 
upon that parent's participation in a batterers' interVention treatment program. 
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Unsupervised contact may be allowed only if it is shown by a preponderance of the 
evidence that the abusive parent has completed a batterers' intervention treatment 
program, is not abusing alcohol or illegally using drugs and poses no danger to the 
child, and that such parent-child contact is in the child's best interest. The parent who 
may have parent-child contact only when' supervised is responsible for the entire cost 
of the supervised visits. 
B. In an order of parental rights and responsibilities, a court may: 
(1) Order an exchange of a child to occur in a protected setting; 
(2) Order contact to be supervised by another person or agency; 
(3) Order the parent who has committed domestic abuse to attend and complete 
to the satisfaction of the court a domestic abuse intervention program or other 
designated counseling as a condition of the contact; 
(4) Ord,er either parent t6 abstain from possession or consumption of alcohol or 
controlled substances, or both, during the visitation and for 24 hours preceding 
the contact; 
(5) Order the parent who has committed domestic abuse to pay a fee to defray 
the costs of supervised contact; 
(6) Prohibit overnight parent-child contact; and 
(7) Impose any other condition that is determined necessary to provide for the 
safety of the child, the victim of domestic abuse or any other family or household 
member. 
C. The court may require security from the parent who has committed domestic 
abuse for the retum and safety of the child. 
D. 
The court may order the address of the child and the victim to be kept 
confidential. 
E. The court may not order a Victim of domestic abuse to attend counseling with the 
parent who has committed domestic abuse. 
F. If a court allows a family or household member supervised visitation center is 
within a reasonable distance, the court shall order that contact occur at the supervised 
visitation center. If a supervised visitation center is not within a reasbnable distance, 
the coU!1 may allow a trusted 3rd pal1y, ac'ceptable to both parents, to supervise 
. parent-child contact.,.-th-e. The court shall establish conditions to be followed during 
. that contact. Conditions include but are not limited to: 
(1) Minimizing circumstances when the family of the parent who has committed 
domestic abuse would be supervising visits; 
(2) Erlsuring that contact does not damage the relationship with the parent with 
whom the child ha.s primary physical residence; 
(3) Ensuring the safety and well-being of the child; and 
(4) Requiring that supcrvision is provided by a person who is physically and 
mentally capable of supervising a visit and who does not have a criminal history 
or history of abuse or neglect. 
G. 
Fees set forth in this subsection incurred by the parent who has committed 
domestic abuse may not be considered as a mitigating factor reducing that parent's 
child support obligation. 
H. The court shall order that psychological testing may not occur in cases involving 
domestic abuse. 
Sec. 3. 19-A MRS A §1653, sub-§6-A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 513, §2, is 
further amended to read: 
6-A. 
Custody and contact limited; sexual offenses. 
The award of primary 
residence sole parental rights and responsibilities and parent-child contact with a person 
who has been convicted of perpetrated a child related sexual offense is governed by this 
subsection. 
A. 
For the purposes of this section, "child related sexual offense" means the 
follo'.ving seJmal offenses if, at the time of the commission of the offense, the victim 
','las under 18 years of age: any violation of Title 17-A, chapter 11. 
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(1) Sexual eJ(ploitation of a minor, under Title 17. Pt, section 282; 
(2) Gross sexual assault, under Title 17 A, section 253; 
(3) SeJmal abuse of a minor, under Title 17 A, section 254; 
(4) Unlm:vful sexual contact, under Title 17 Pt, section 255 A or former seefion 
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(5) Visual seJmal aggression against a child, unde;lr Title 17 i'L, section 256; 
(6). SeJ(ual misconduct ','/ith a child under 14 years of age, under Title 17 A, 
section 258; 
(6 A) Solicitation of a child by computer to commit a prohibited act, under Title 
Pt, section 259; or 
(7) An offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is substantially 
similar to that contained in subparagraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6) or (6 A). For 
purposes of this subparagraph, "another jurisdiction" means the Fe!ieral 
Government, the United States military, the District of Columbia, the 
Commomvealth of Puerto Rico, the Commomvealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and each of 
the several states except Maine. "Another jurisdiction" also means the 
Passamaquoddy T~be v:hen that tribe has acted pursuant to Title 30, section. 
6209 A, subsection 1, paragraph A or B and the Penobscot Nation ',':hen that tribe 
has acted pursuant to Title 30, section 6209.B, subsection 1, paragraph A or B. 
A-I. There is a presumption that a parent who has a history of pemetrating sexual 
offenses, child-related or otherwise, may not be awarded sole or joint parental rights 
and responsibilities with regard to a child. 
The court may find a history of 
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perpetrating sexual offenses if one incident has been verified by medical care 
providers, the Departrn:ent of Health and Human Services or a law enforcement 
agency. The presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence that 
the perpetrating parent' has successfully completed a sexual abuser intetvention 
treatment program of at least one year in length, is not abusing alCohol or illegally 
using drugs and that the best interest of the child requires that parent's participation. 
The fact that the abused parent suffers from the effects of the abuse is not grgunds for 
denying that parent primary-residence. 
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B. A court may aVlard primary residence of a minor child or parent child contact 
"'lith a minor child to a parent ,tVho has been convicted of a child related seJmal 
offense only if the court finds that contact between the parent and child is in the best 
interest of the child and that adequate' proVision for the safety of the child can be 
rna4&. 
C. In an order of parental rights and responsibilities, a court may require that parent-
child contact between a minor child and a person convicted of a child related who has 
perpetrated a sexual offense may occur only if there is another ,person or an' agency or 
a trusted 3rd party acceptable to both parents present to supervise the contact. The 
parent who may have parent-child contact only when supervised is responsible for the 
entire cost of the supervised visits. If the court allows a family or household memb,er . 
to supervise parent-child contact, the court shall establish conditions to be followed 
during that contact. Conditions include, but are not limited to, those that: 
'(1) Minimize circumstances when the family of the parent who is a sex offender 
or sexually violent predator would be supervising visit,s; 
(2) Ensure that contact does not damage the relationship with the parent with 
whom the child has primary physical residence; 
(3) Ensure the safety and well-being of the child; and 
(4) . Require that supervision be provided by a person who is physically and 
meI1tally capable of supervising a visit and who does not have a criminal history 
or history of abuse or neglect. 
Sec. 4. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6-B; as amended by PL 2007, c. 513, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
6-B. Conviction or adjudication for certain sex offenses; presumption. There is 
a rebuttable presumption that the petitioner would create a situation of jeopardy for the 
child if any colltact Viere to be perinitted and that any contact is not in the best interests of 
the child if the court finds that the person seeking primary residence or contact 'vvith the 
ehll6 the abusing parent: 
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A. Has been convicted of an offense listed in subsection 6-A, paragraph A in which 
the victim was a minor at the time of the offense and the person was at least 5 years 
older than the minor at' the time of the offense except that, if the offense was gross 
sexual assault under Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, paragraph B or C, or an 
offense in another jurisdiction that involves conduct that is substantially similar to 
that contained in Title 17-A, section 253, subsection 1, paragraph B or C, and the 
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ininor victim submitted as a result of compulsion, the presumption applies regardless 
ofthe ages pf the person and the minor victim at the time of the offense; or 
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B. 
Has been adjudicated in an action under Title 22, chapter 1071 of sexually 
abusing a person who was a minor at the time of the abuse. 
The person seeking primary residence or contact with the child may present evidence to 
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rebut the presumption. 
Sec. 5. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6~C is enacted to read: 
6-C. Evidence when domestic abuse present. The court shall appoint a domestic 
abuse expert recognized by the Attorney Genenil's office, who is not a guardian ad litem,' 
for all cases involving domestic abuse. The expert shall employ the highest and best 
recognized domestic abuse paradigms and lethality assessments as approved by the 
Attorney General's office. The Department of Health and Human Services' domestic 
violence protocol must be followed and used by all guardians ad litem and domestic 
abuse experts. The expert _and the expert's report must carry. the same weight in all 
parental rights and responsibilities matters as the report of the gUardian ad litem. Full 
disclosure of any and allmedical, mental health and employment records for both parents 
must be provided to and considered by the domestic abuse expert. . 
The court shall allow testimony via telephone or other electronic means when national 
experts on parental rights and responsibilities and domestic abuse are involved. 
Sec. 6. 19-A MRSA §1653, sub-§6-D is enacted to read: 
6-D. Relocation. If a parent relocates with the child due to domestic abuse or threat 
of harm, including real fear based·on past history of such threats and abuse, the absence 
or relocation is not a factor that weighs against the absent or relocated parent in 
determining parental rights and responsibilities. 
In every proceeding in which there is at issue a dispute as to the primary residence of a 
child, a determination by the court that domestic abuse has occurred raises a rebuttable 
presumption that it is in the best interest of the child to reside with the parent who is not a 
perpetrator of domestic abuse in the location of that parent's choice, within or outside of. 
the .State. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates a rebuttable presumption in the awarding of sole and joint parental 
rights and responsibilities in cases of dome~tic abuse in a family. It is presumed that a 
parent who has a history of perpetrating domestic abuse will not be awarded primary 
resid~nce or shared residence with children. This bill is modeled on law enacted' in 
Louisiana and many other states, as well- as on the NatIonal Council of Jtlvenile and 
Farii.ily Court Judges' model code. 
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