Many New Jersey parents face disagreements with former spouses or others regarding child-related matters. When the central focus is child custody, serious problems can arise, especially if someone relocates a child without going through appropriate channels of approval. One dad has been fighting for five years to get his son back, and just recently the tides seem to have turned in his favor.
The FBI got involved in this case. The man’s son traveled to Brazil with his mother for a family wedding. The boy’s father accused his former in-laws of assisting her in keeping the child in Brazil instead of returning him to the United States.
The child in question is age 8, and his father says the boy’s grandparents and former wife conspired against him to keep him from getting his son back. FBI agents and other authorities appear to agree with that assessment as the grandparents, ages 67 and 65, were arrested on a recent Wednesday at the Miami International Airport in Florida. Federal charges for international parental kidnapping and conspiracy have been filed against them.
An attorney acting on behalf of the grandparents says they understand nothing about the criminal justice system in America and the child custody issues in this situation should be addressed in Brazil. An FBI agent in the case says he believes the mother and grandparents intended to obstruct lawful exercise of the father’s parental rights. The father is hopeful that the situation will finally be rectified soon. Any New Jersey parent facing similar child custody problems may turn to an experienced family law attorney for guidance.
Source: ABC News, “Texas dad hopeful of son’s return from Brazil after former in-laws jailed in 5-year international custody battle“, Bill Hutchinson, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Feb. 13, 2018