With the latest round of a highly publicized child custody battle, Braveheart actor Mel Gibson was granted additional visitation hours with his daughter.
According to sources, the 54-year-old actor will get extra visitation time to spend with his toddle-aged daughter Lucia. This small victory for Gibson is a big turn in the opposite direction of what his ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva was hoping for, which was too actually take away more time that the father and daughter could see each other.
Since the couple split in May, both the tabloids and courtroom have been filled with accusations of assault and extortion. However, in May, the couple did sign an agreement that granted both Gibson and Grigorieva joint legal and physical custody of Lucia. Under this agreement, over a two week time period, Gibson would have six days of visitation with his daughter, which includes three overnight visits.
Grigorieva, who claims that an argument got physical in January, was attempting to stop Gibson from having those overnight visits, however, a judge ruled in Gibson’s favor — not only allowing the overnight visits — but also increasing the overall time he gets to spend with her each week.
For Gibson, his legal advisors argued that Grigorieva’s comments about the alleged January attack only prove that her main interest is in damaging the actor’s reputation. His advisors also requested that Gibson be given full custody, with Oksana only allowed monitored visits, which would also only be allowed during the day.
In the end, Gibson was given additional time with his daughter, however, sources are reporting that the time only amounts to a few hours a week.
Source: ABC15.com, “Gibson granted extra time with tot,” 19 Dec 2010
