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Dad banned from contact with daughters

Tough ruling: Te Family Court of WA. Picture: The West Australian

A Perth father has been banned from contact with his two daughters and will be entitled to only 12 photographs of his children a year after the WA Family Court found he posed an unacceptable risk to the girls physically, psychologically and emotionally.

A conflict between the religious backgrounds of the former couple - the father and his family are Muslims and the mother's heritage is Roman Catholic - was one of the key issues played out at a hearing into the custody battle over the children, revealed in a judgment published this month.

The religious conflict and the father's history of violence, sexually inappropriate behaviour towards a younger sister when he was a teenager and mental illness were among the issues that influenced the court to take the "option of last resort" and make orders that would prevent any relationship between him and his daughters.

Under the orders, made in January, the mother was awarded sole responsibility for the children, who have had no contact with their father since they were aged 2½ and two weeks when the couple separated in 2008.

Justice Jane Crisford declined to make any order allowing the father to spend time with his daughters, saying even safeguards such as supervision could not ameliorate the risks. She ordered three photos of each child be given to the father twice a year and the father be able to provide photos of himself and his family in an album once a year.

The court was told that the couple married in 2004 and the mother converted to Islam, but she came to feel oppressed and demeaned.

Justice Crisford heard evidence the father had been abusive and derogatory to the mother and made threats to kill.

The judge noted that the father's family had failed to deal properly with the "abhorrent behaviour" of the male members who were involved in the sexual abuse of a sister. She said the mother, who has also struggled with mental illness, described her ex-husband as a "monster".

She said the father's family had expected the children to be brought up as Muslims and the mother knew this before they married.

"I do, however, consider this to be an example of an unhelpful impasse between the couple as a result of a conflict based, to some extent, on religious principles … there does not appear to be any room to genuinely accommodate the differences such that the children are able to move freely between the very different households," Justice Crisford said.