VIRGINIA Part 53

Can a parent who committed violence get custody?

Maybe.  When making a decision about custody or visitation, the judge must take into account any history of family abuse or sexual abuse.* Family abuse is when your family or household member hurts you using violence, force, or threats that result in bodily injury or place you in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury.**

However, this does not mean that the parent who committed abuse will automatically be denied custody; it just means that the judge has to consider the abuse in addition to other relevant facts.  If the judge does decide to grant visitation to the abuser, you can ask that the visitation be supervised in order to better protect yourself and your child.