Can a mother stop her ex partner from seeing there children or child if he has a history of drink, drugs and violence and has also been convicted and sent to prison for rape!

It depends on the state or country you live in first. Second, it depends on what the Court Orders. Is there currently an Order from the Court regarding visitation or custody? Called Time Sharing or shared parental responsibility in some areas. If so, what does that Order say? If there is an Order in effect giving the father rights to see his kids, you can petition the Court to modify that Order and show cause that there is a danger to the children present if they continue contact but you have to prove there is a danger to the kids meaning have evidence, such as a psychologist for the children willing to testify in court that it is not good for the kids to see him. If there is no Order, then there is no legal grounds for the father to see the kids YET! If you have a divorce or other legal action before the Court you will need to address this issue in that case again showing there is a danger to the kids. If there is no Court cases currently going on, you may want to initiate a case with the Court asking for sole custody with supervised visits if you feel that would be OK for the children. Many states look poorly on a parent who refuses any contact with the other parent, so supervised visitation like 2 times a month for an hour is at least an effort on your part to say "hey, I want my kids to know their dad but I also want them to be safe while doing so". Is he currently in jail? If so, be careful as jails are full of want to be lawyers who have too much time on their hands and enjoy fighting things like petitions for sole custody, so you may be best waiting until he gets out to file, so he can't access those jail house lawyers. I am not an attorney and this is not legal advise, you need to seek the assistance of a qualified family law attorney.

Only a court can issue an order preventing a parent from seeing their child. If the father tries to see the child, the mother can refuse to allow it, but if a court orders (or has ordered) visitation, then the mother could face contempt of court charges by refusing visitation.

So the question now is whether he is currently in prison and whether there are currently any court orders for visitation. Also ANY question on law needs to include your general locale as laws vary by area.

Please respond (use the Answer box below) with more details so we can help further.

One parent can not legally refuse to follow a standing court order. And even "dangerous" fathers can normally get at least supervised visits.

Also just because a man commits rape, it does not mean they would harm their child. Also the facts of the rape makes a difference,

But she will have to go to court to get visits limited or supervised.