AN ACCUSED rapist has been given joint custody of the child he allegedly fathered with a 12-year-old girl in the US.

Christopher Mirasolo, 27, allegedly kidnapped the girl and her sister nine years ago subjecting them to sexual assaults before threatening to kill them if they spoke out, The Sun reports.

Judge Gregory S. Ross granted Mirasolo joint custody of the eight-year-old boy in a Michigan court after a DNA test proved he was the father, The Detroit News reports.

The judge even revealed the victim’s home address to Mirasolo and ordered his name be added to the child’s birth certificate.

But the alleged victim’s lawyer Rebecca Kiessling said he should have been locked up for at least 25 years and is seeking protection for her client, now aged 21, under the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act.

Mirasolo was given a plea deal by the Sanilac County Prosecutor’s Office for attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

“Nothing has been right about this since it was originally investigated,” she said.

“He was never properly charged and should still be sitting behind bars somewhere, but the system is victimising my client, who was a child herself when this all happened.”

The alleged victim said about the case: “I think this is all crazy. They (officials) never explained anything to me. I was receiving about $260 a month in food stamps for me and my son and health insurance for him. I guess they were trying to see how to get some of the money back.”

It was alleged that Mirasolo kept the girls hostage for two days in an empty house.

He was arrested a month later and pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct, receiving a one-year sentence. He was 18 at the time.

After being granted early release to care for a sick mother, Mirasolo reoffended and was returned to jail for four and half years after he sexually assaulted a victim aged between 13 and 15.

Mirasolo’s lawyer said he had not initiated proceedings, which are reportedly routine when a person applies for state assistance.

This case is believed to be the first case of its kind in Michigan, and perhaps in the US.

This story originally appeared in The Sun and has been republished here with permission.