Mel Gibson seeks custody of child

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Mel Gibson is trying to get custody of his daughter by Oksana Grigorieva, alleging Grigorieva leaked false information about him to news media, TMZ reported.

TMZ.com said Gibson's lawyer asked a Los Angeles judge Friday for an emergency order transferring custody from Grigorieva. The grounds, sources told the Web site, were a TMZ story a day earlier that Grigorieva had said in a deposition that Gibson was aroused by hitting her during sex.

Lawyer Stephen Kolodny accused Grigorieva of lying in her deposition and then leaking her own lies, sources told TMZ. He also reportedly argued that smearing the father of her 14-month-old child demonstrated she is unfit for custody.

Gibson's divorce from his wife Robyn, with whom he has seven children, and his public affair and split from Grigorieva have caused damage to a reputation already sullied by his anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 drunken driving arrest. The Australian-American star had been known as a devout Traditionalist Roman Catholic and as the son of a prominent Holocaust denier.

Judge Scott Gordon reportedly rejected Kolodny's request for an immediate decision, scheduling a full hearing in February.