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  1. #1

    Post Parental Kidnapping

    My question involves a child custody case from the State of: CO

    I am a father of a 4 year old girl. I was never married to her mom and at the age of 2 her mom and I broke up. Her mom left and we had a verbal agreement on custody. I had her most of the time and she would see her when she wanted too. A few months after that I wrote up an agreement on custody arrangements so we had it written down somewhere for reference. The following year she took out a restraining order on me preventing me from seeing our daughter. I hired a lawyer and fought this charge. The same day she was in court arguing for a restraining order, I was there filing for custody of our daughter. I was served with the restraining order and the 2 weeks later the judge issued a temp order for me to see her 3 days a week.

    3 months after that my daughter told me she was being sexually abused by her mom and her new boyfriend. I called the police and took her to a physical examination at a hospital where they found very little physical evidence and by very little evidence I mean irritation. She was interviewed by the poilce and C.P.S where she showed them on a video recording what her mom and her bf did to her.

    Longer story short, after we both attained lawyers somehow after that police closed the case and social services wanted nothing to do with it. During this entire time her mother was entitled to supervised visitation and never used her twice a week visitation right to see her, and I had temp full custody. My daughter was at risk of going back there so I asked the court to issue her a passport and the judge ordered it so. I was able to obtain a passport for her and we left the US. The judge rescinded that order the next day but did not alert our attorneys until the day before I flew out and my lawyer did not tell me till after I was in Europe.

    The judge since issued a nationwide Failure to comply warrant with no bail and I have yet to return to the US. However when does this become kidnapping?? is a failure to comply a lifelong warrant??

    Any help would be great. Thanks

    Jay

  2. #2

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    It doesn't become kidnapping; if anything it would likely fall under interference with custody. All warrants are "lifelong" - they just sit quietly in the system until their purpose is served (to bring the wanted person before the court).

  3. #3

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    Dear aardvarc,

    I was told if the mother could she could press charges for kidnapping is that incorrect then?? Also, I realize that the statue of limitations does not apply here however if I was to travel into the US with the nationwide no bail warrant for failure to comply would I be arrested at customs??

    Thanks,

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2005
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    Michigan
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    28,906

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    You took off to Europe how long ago, with the intent to return when?

  5. #5

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    When the judge gave me the order to the passport he never gave me a specific time to return. THe judge only determined that after I had left. I was set to go and come back within 3 weeks. I suffered a health problem while in Europe and the doctor in the hospital advised me at the time I am not allowed to fly. Since then I am better however due to FTC warrant I am reluctent to return to only see my daughter taken away from me and me getting thrown into jail.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Behind a Desk
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    98,846

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    You were asked how long ago you left, and didn't answer. The answer you gave sounds like a long way of saying that you're hanging out in Europe for as long as you can to avoid facing custody consequences in the United States. How do you think that makes the court perceive your actions and intentions?

    Hire a good custody lawyer in Colorado to start advocating for you, and to lay the groundwork for your return.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    Sounds to me like you never intended to come back when you left the country so it was international parental kidnapping from day one. If you can prove that was not your intent it became international kidnapping the day you failed to return to the US under your stated schedule (technically it became an illegal retention on that date but there is no real legal distinction between kidnapping and retention). You can be proseucted under the IPKCA or UFAP once the local court issues a warrant for your arrest for custodial interference. The above two laws are federal laws there may be additional laws in your state, (I am not familiar with the laws in CO). I will also state for the record that many of the justifications you state for not returning and for leaving are parrotted by any and every child abductor and you had best be able to prove them convincingly because the word of a child abductor can, and should, be viewed very skeptically. I espect an application for return under the Hague Convention will be filed shortly and most Europoean nations are very compliant with this treaty and will order your daughter returned. If it is the case that your daughter was in danger with her mother you have not done your child any favors by hiding her in a foreign country that is obligated under international treaty to return her to the place of habitual residence where the mother will have a better chance of winning sole legal custody based on your bad faith action of child abduction. I recommend you voluntarily return to the US immediately and make up a good excuse for over-staying your planned vacation.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    Thanks for the reply. Here is a reply to your question. I did not leave with the intent to not return. I left with the full intention of returning. In fact I still own a home in CO and have financial interest there. My main concern is the following, I have my daughters case documented with a 2 separate doctors who concluded her statement are true and that she was sexually abused. They both disagree with the statements her mom's Dr said.

    However, when I return with the failure to comply warrant. Will I be arrested in the airport at customs???

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    3

    Default Re: Parental Kidnapping

    In spite of the laws I quoted above which characterize abudctions and retentions as illegal they are rarely enforced. This is something that generally angers me but it is something that works to your benefit in this case. Assuming you can demonstrate evidence of abuse you have several options.

    You can stay in the country you are currently in and wait for your wife to request the child be returned to the US under the Hague Convention and fight a Hague case in the foreign country. The Hague Convention allows for the return of children to be denied under several conditions which are specified under article 13 of said convention. In your case the applicable exception would be that there "exists a grave risk of physical or psychological harm to the child" in the home country.

    You can return to the US. I doubt you will actually be prosecuted given the circumstances but you may be arrested at the airport (and released shortly thereafter) with your daughter taken by social services and possibly given back to your wife. It really depends on what actions your wife has taken since you have left. She may have hired a lawyer, gotten an emergency custody order (if none existed before, I don't recall if you said there was one and I'm tired and lazy) and reported the child as missing and a warrant may have been issued.. If she has done these things it is not a secret. All such orders and actions are a matter of public record. I suggest you do three things:

    1) If you already have an attorney in your home town contact him and ask him if any orders have been issued. If you don't have an attorney it's not absolutely necessary to have one at this point but it may become so quickly

    2) Contact your local police department and ask them if any warrants have been issued or if you child has been reported as missing or listed in the NCIC missing persons database

    3) Contact the US Dept of State's Office of Children's Issues to get their advice and determine if an application for return has been filed for your daughter under the Hague Convention.

    The responses you get in doing the above 3 things will determine you next steps.

    Best of luck. I hope things work out for your daughter.

    Ok, I should actually read before I reply. I just re-read your original post. You know there is a warrant already for a failure to comply. There is no hard and fast date at which time failure to comply becomes parental kidnapping. In many cases it never does, especially if the abductor is a mother or there was evidence of abuse prior to the abduction. However the longer you wait the worse it looks for you if and when you return (and of course there is no statute of limitations here). Given that a warrant exists they will likely arrest you at some point if you do not present yourself voluntarily at the court. Will they arrest you at the airport? They might, I really don't know. I recommend you contact the attorney you previously worked with, or another one, and have him make some inquiries on your behalf. If you contact the Office of Children's Issues in the US State Dept though they may very well make these inquiries for you and will likely be sympathetic given the evidence of abuse and that you had temporary full custody.

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