EXCLUSIVE! DCFS Insider Believes Mel Is A ‘Decent Father,’ ‘Not Violent,’ and Believes Baby ‘Was Mishandled Accidentally’

A source within the Los Angeles County Dept. of Children and Family Services (DCFS) reveals a surprising take on the Mel Gibson situation — that Mel isn’t a bad father, that he’s not ‘a violent alcoholic,’ that Oksana is using the baby as ‘bait,’ and that the bruise in the photo revealed July 21 was an accident.

A photo of Mel Gibson and Oksana Grigorieva‘s bruised and cut eight-month-old baby Lucia was revealed on RadarOnline.com July 21 — but a Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services insider tells HollywoodLife.com that the Sensitive Case Unit (SCU), which handles high-profile cases like Mel’s, has already seen the photo — and believes that it was an accident.

As HollywoodLife.com first broke, DCFS launched an investigation on Mel and Oksana prior to the tapes leaking online. Mel met with DCFS and was formally interviewed by them July 21, for several hours. Our source, who has more than a decade of experience handling high-profile child custody battles like Mel’s, says,  “I do not believe Mel is not a good father. He’s a drunk. He’s belligerent, yes, but the reality is, this case isn’t that different from any child custody fight. I believe that child was mishandled accidentally.”

The source believes Oksana, 40, is a woman with serious issues and tells us, “Because she didn’t get what she wanted, she wants to vilify this guy. All the money wasn’t worth it to her, she wanted more. It’s sad because she’s using the baby as the bait.”

As for Mel, the DCFS insider says the 54-year-old actor isn’t as filled with rage as the tapes suggest.

“I believe Mel Gibson is just a person who uses name calling techniques as his mechanism when he’s angry,” our sources says, explaining, “I think he’s an old-fashioned yeller and a screamer. I don’t think he’s a violent alcoholic at all.”

The rants and photos might just be leaking onto the Internet now, but our insider says they weren’t a new surprise for the DCFS.

“The Sensitive Case Unit knew about the photo,” says the source. “Oksana had to give the photos over to DCFS a long time ago. [A person] is just leaking them out now [for the public to see].”

Clearly our insider agrees with the assessment of Mel’s ex-wife of more than 30 years, Robyn, who made a declaration in court July 15 that Mel is a fit and sound father. According to our source, the photo didn’t warrant the child being taken away from his parents: “DCFS was in court the other day, but they waited outside because it was being handled by Judge [Scott] Gordon. If there was a situation here, he would have taken the baby away immediately.”

According to Oksana, Mel, 54, punched her in the face and then hit their then-two-month-old baby Lucia during a Jan. 6 altercation, which is proven in the photo showing Lucia with a bruised and cut chin. Our insider says the photo clearly shows a hurt child, but that it might not have been on purpose.

“I believe that this child was mishandled accidentally, but no one knows when those photos were taken,” the DCFS source says. “People are going to believe what they want to believe. However, from being in Scott Gordon’s court room, I can tell you there’s a reason he didn’t change the current custody situation.”

Both Oksana and Mel’s lawyer were in courtJuly 15, where the judge decided the Braveheart actor does not pose a threat to his baby daughter. Our source says if DCFS thought Lucia was in danger, it would have taken the case over and LA Superior Court wouldn’t have jurisdiction as it currently does.

“If DCFS takes the case over, then it’s out of the jurisdiction of LA Superior Court and they take precedence,” the source says, explaining, “But obviously there’s no need for that, because Mel and Oksana have been in court in front of Scott Gordon.”

As for the horrific leaked tapes of Mel’s racist and abusive rants at Oksana, our insider says people shouldn’t jump to conclusions too quickly and blame the 54-year-old actor. “Remember, this is supposed to be a sealed case — there’s always a leak, but in this case, there’s a major hemorrhage … They are both using the media to tell their stories.”

— Kirstin Benson