By now, everyone has heard about the scandalous details of Peter Cook and Christie Brinkley’s divorce and child custody case. But if you haven’t seen the news coverage, the short version says so. Peter Cook, the husband of Christie Brinkly, reportedly had an addiction to internet pornography, reportedly spending up to $3000 per month on internet pornography sites and fetish dating sites called Adult Friend Finder. Mr Cook admitted to masturbating while on an internet video camera while another member of this online dating website watched.

Ms. Brinkley was able to obtain the billing records for these internet dating services and admit them into evidence in her custody case. The judge was able to consider this evidence and ultimately awarded sole custody of the couple’s two children to Mrs Brinlkey.

Receiving sole custody in a child custody case is considered a big win. Especially in cases where there is no evidence of criminal activity, physical or sexual abuse or substance abuse such as drug or alcohol addiction. It would seem that, aside from Mr. Cook’s admission that he had an affair with a very young employee, the only mark used against him was his addiction to Internet pornography.

Not everyone involved in custody battles will have the same day in court as Ms. Brinkley. The average person simply does not have the money or notoriety to get a fair trial in court. Most people involved in a Family Court custody hearing will get a brief review of their case and a rushed order from a judge riddled with errors and inequity. Most people would agree that the Family Court system is flawed and that in the end it is always the children who suffer.

There are cost-effective resources that the average person can use when involved in a child custody case and suspect that their spouse may have an addiction to Internet pornography. There are online investigative services that can take the email addresses of suspected parents and search all online dating services until they locate the other parent’s personal ad memberships. These investigations will also uncover social networking sites like Myspace and Friendster and will also include some pornography sites. As we see in the case of Brinkley v. Cook, evidence of an addiction to pornography or participation in sites with a sexual fetish such as Adult Friend Finder can influence the outcome of a custody case.

An investigation of the online dating service can uncover some very extreme sexual fetishes such as bondage, self suffocation, and self mutilation. Profiles on these sites may also include admissions or references to drug use, addiction, and possibly even crime. Recently, a search for online dating services produced an image on MySpace of the defendant’s 5-year-old girl posing with a gun.

Obviously, the parent who was supervising the child and took the photo and posted it on his secret MySpace page was in for quite a surprise at his custody hearing.

If you are involved in a custody battle and suspect that your ex has an addiction to internet pornography and may be involved in a secret life of extreme sexual fetish dating sites, you can request an online infidelity investigation by searching Google . There are some very reliable services that offer such research. You can start your search for an investigator by googling “Online Infidelity Research.” But before you hire an PI, make sure they are considered an expert in their field. Do your homework by Googling the name of the researcher and the name of the company. Make sure they are considered experts in this field.

Whether you have already been involved in a custody lawsuit or are simply contemplating a divorce and suspect your spouse may have an addiction to Internet pornography, an online infidelity investigation will surely be needed to protect yourself and the future from their children.