"At one stage, because he felt so disgusted with himself, he actually confessed to me that he had one time found himself thinking about harming the kids just to make her feel some of the pain that he was feeling by not being allowed to see the kids enough"
Scary Dust! Controlling man and so self absorbed about his feelings for himself, enough to hurt his wife by thinking of harming his kid/s. What a person appears to be to their mates and what a man is as a father and husband can be quite different. I know of men who would never even think, despite!
If this father was so sick, why didn't he throw himself off the bridge instead of seeming to be suicidal now....and your friend instead of thinking of harming the kids. Luckily your friend isn't that bad and if he starts having further thoughts he should seek professional help before he possibly acts it out....that's how it starts with thoughts that these people don't originally think they could act out.
