PARIS – A sex offender accused of gross sexual assault may have contact with his children, a judge ruled Thursday.

Justice Joyce Wheeler ruled that Gregory Turner, 45, of 1098 Waterford Road in Waterford, may have unsupervised visits with his 15-year-old daughter. He may also have supervised contact with his 18-month-old son and attend the birth of his child in early 2008.

Turner was charged in August with gross sexual assault after a complaint that he’d kissed a 6-year-old girl on her genitals. He was later released on $50,000 surety bail.

Under the conditions of his bail, Turner was not to have contact with children under the age of 16. Defense attorney James Martemucci requested a modification in bail at the end of August, saying the condition prevented Turner from seeing his children and was “punitive, unnecessary, and detrimental” to the family.

Assistant District Attorney Richard Beauchesne said he had briefly met Thursday morning with Turner’s ex-wife, Cindy Turner, who is the mother of his daughter. Cindy Turner had written two letters to the court opposing a modification to the bail.

Turner was convicted in 1986 of gross sexual misconduct against a Paris woman. He was given a suspended three-year prison sentence and two years’ probation. In 2005, he was required to register as a lifetime sex offender.

According to an affidavit by Lt. Hart Daley, Turner was serving probation for a 2003 conviction of unlawful furnishing of scheduled drugs and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person when he was arrested on the most recent charge.