BRISBANE, Australia, June 13 (UPI) -- A 5-year-old girl should be told in "age-appropriate language" that her father is a convicted child molester, an Australian judge ruled Tuesday.
Justice Peter Murphy, in his ruling in Family Court in Brisbane, said the girl needs to understand why her father is only allowed supervised visits, The Courier-Mail of Brisbane reported.
"In light of the age of the mother and the father's history and the journey that she has already undertaken, it is plainly in her interest," Murphy said.
The girl was born to a teenage runaway and a man who had recently been released after serving time for juvenile sexual offenses. Her father had been sexually molested by his father, who committed suicide in front of his son.
The Department of Child Services stepped in when officials discovered the girl and her mother were living with three known pedophiles -- the child's father, his uncle and another man. The girl is now living with her mother and her father is allowed only 2 hours a month with her at a contact center.
Murphy said a professional counselor should explain the situation to the girl, using "age-appropriate language."
