POLICE have won a fight to stop a "high risk" child molester having any contact with his wife's young son in the first case of its kind under new legislation.

Burnley magistrates made a sex offenders order on the 37-year-old Burnley ex-prisoner, who recently wed the nine-year- old boy's mother with another convicted sex offender as "best man."

The bench had been told how social services believe the man, said to have met the woman through a lonely hearts column advert - which read "single mothers welcome" - is a threat to the boy. The youngster's mother, however, refused to accept what her husband had done and claims he was wrongly convicted.

The civil hearing, brought by Lancashire Constabulary under the Crime and Disorder Act, had heard how the boy's mother, who has learning difficulties, loved and trusted the 37-year-old, who, she said, was much better than her previous partner, who used to beat her up. She and the man, who served a two-year jail sentence for sexually abusing boys, had lived together with her son in a bedsit while he was on prison licence, and objected to the order being made. The boy was now in care and with foster parents.

Under the order, the first aimed at protecting a particular child and not just youngsters in general, the 37-year-old man was prohibited from living in the same house as any child under 18 and must not have contact, directly or indirectly, with youngsters under the same age. The man, a registered sex offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also prohibited from leaving his place of registration without first notifying the police station holding that registration of his intention seven days before

The court was told the 37-year-old was sent to prison in November 1997 after admitting three counts of indecent assault, involving two boys of six and 11. Earlier this year the man was living with the child's mother, weeks after meeting her, and the child was sleeping on a mattress on the floor.

A social services senior practitioner, said the mother had told the department her relationship with the man was over. Questioned by Naimh Noone, solicitor for the police, she said the mother told her the man had said he was innocent, she believed him and said he would not have committed the offences.

The mother did not accept the danger posed to her son and deliberately tried to deceive the department.

Cross examined by Dylan Bradshaw, for the sex offender, the social worker, who had taken the nine-year-old to a place of safety, said the child did not complain of anything untoward by the 37-year-old on the journey. As far as she was aware, the man had not been told to "watch his back" by anybody in the department. A second social worker told the hearing the nine-year-old would not be returned home while his mother lived with the 37-year-old. There were no plans for the man to be included in the child's future.

The man had sent the child notes signed from "dad" and had been trying to contact the boy, although it had been made clear he could not see or contact him.

Cross examined by Mr Bradshaw, the social worker said the department's concern was that the mother would not be able to protect the boy. She had facilitated contact between the 37-year-old and her son.

The mother sobbed as she told the court she loved both the man and her son and trusted her husband.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.