Source:

Reuters U.S. News – A man and sister are sentenced to prison in U.S. cyberstalking case (02-19-2016)

These two identical twin daughters were kidnapped in April 2014 by their non-custodial mother Catherine “Cassie” Watter. This case was featured on May 18, 2014 on the website of Family Court Critic / Protective Parent Movement Safe Kids International run by Cindy Dumas of California. Dumas used the title: “Run Cassie Run!!” and labeled Cassie Watter as a Protective Mom. Watter was the former director of a paediatric health service in Townsville, Australia.

Cassie Watter – Parental Kidnapper

Alleged Sighting of Cassie Watter in Queensland’s North Coast

Editor’s Note:

• Savanna Todd / Samantha Geldenhuys the daughter of Dorothy Lee Barnett is a nursing student at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. By some strange coincidence, that is the city in which Cassie Watter abducted her two daughters. We wonder if Cassie Watter knew Dorothy Lee Barnett or any of the Barnett’s supporters?

In April  of 2013, Protective Mum Catherine Cassie Watter was no doubt seeking revenge against her former spouse. She had previously found some supporters at James Cook University School of School Work that were part of the “Protective Parent” or “Protective Mum” Movement in Australia. On that day, she kidnapped her children and went into hiding or the underground in Australia.

In Australia the most outspoken leaders of the Protective Parent Movement are from the Academic Community. Ros Thorpe (Rosamund Thorpe) is Adjunct Professor Emeritus at James Cook University. She is also President of the Family Inclusion network which is an advocacy organisation for social justice for children and families caught up in the child protection system.  Believe it or not, in July 2014, Professor Thorpe setup a website http://www.friendsofcassiewatter.net supporting parental kidnapper Cassie Watter. Dr. Freda Briggs, is an Emeritus Professor at the University of South Australia also spoke in the media to support accused parental kidnapper Cassie Watter who has been in hiding for over 2 years with her daughters.

Ros Thorpe – Prof Emeritus, James Cook University

Freda Briggs – Prof Emeritus, University of South Australia

The Professors are not the first in the academic community to support the protective parent or protective mum movement that is known for supporting parental kidnapping as an alternative in child custody cases. In the United States, Dr. Kathleen Faller of the University of Michigan and the late Hal Pepinsky of Indiana University supported Faye Yager and the protective parent movement. What is outrageous that in the Watter case, Professor Ros Thorpe actually purchased the website www.freindsofcassiewatter.net and published quotes promoting the “Protective Mother” Movement or Cause. The Professors in the United States were not so public in their support for this cause. That said, the support for these kidnapping cases always seems to come from an older person that is retiring at the end of their career like the now retired H. Joan Pennington of the National Center for Protective Parents in Trenton, New Jersey.

See these quotes from that website:

“Cassie Watter is a loving, caring and protective mum, who puts the needs of others above herself. Cassie is the sanest person I know even through all the adversity that she has suffered. Cassie values family above all else and is a fantastic mum. Her integrity, genuine caring and empathy for others are truly amazing to see. Cassie has a huge heart and is the first to help when others are in need. All of the qualities displayed by Cassie make and define Cassie as the beautiful person I know and admire.” – Mark Dunstan, Committed father, Social Worker, and Treasurer, Family Inclusion Network Queensland (Townsville) Inc., July 2014
“In the time that I have known Cassie Watter, I have observed her to consistently be the person described in other comments on this website from a wide range of people who support mainstream community values. I have observed her to consistently act in what she believes to be the paramount best interests of her children. I observed a very committed and protective mother. The public comments that I have read on this web site support Cassie as a mother, and as a person of value.” – Frank Reilly, Social Worker and FIN tsv volunteer worker, July 2014
“Cassie Watter – “tile grouter extraordinaire!” We have known Cassie for about 5 years and found her to be very generous with her time and skills. Her involvement in community projects led to her being nominated and receiving recognition for her good works. We spent quite a bit of time over the last few years with Cassie and her daughters, and witnessed a loving caring relationship between this highly protective mother and her gorgeous girls.” – Lynne & Bob Bartlett, July 2014

We don’t blame the custodial father in the Cassie Watter Family Abduction Case for his outage over Professors Thorpe and Briggs and their Universities that allows these members of the academic community to support a parental kidnapper. We too are outraged at the Administrators of these Universities. I am certain these are well respected educational institutions, but to the Family Abduction Community, this is horrific. Some students at these Universities should start a campaign to find these kidnapped children or pressure these professors to get the protective moms to turn themselves in and bring this matter before the Australia Family Courts where it belongs. As we have seen in the United States, these professors are selfishly more interested in publishing their research and books and promoting their reputations rather than the well-being of these kidnapped children.

Next, the Family Inclusion Network in Queensland (Townsville) where Ros Thorpe is the President. We are not certainly exactly what is shocking is that this group did not support Protective Mom Dorothy Lee Barnett who had ties to Faye Yager. With one of the biggest Protective Parent Cases in Australia, the Family Inclusion Network in Queensland never came forward to support Dorothy Lee Barnett. In following the protective parent for the past decade, I find it difficult or impossible that they were not following the case. Since the didn’t come forward, it usually means that they were involved in assisting Barnett. When Mal Brough got involved in the Barnett Case, it might have meant that some member of this group played an active role in arranging his support.

In the United States, there are three individuals that are currently awaiting trial for their assistance aiding and abetting in the kidnapping of two teenager girls in a family abduction. What needs to happen in the Watter Case is that Australian Law Enforcement needs to find these girls, arrest this mother and prosecute any third parties that are helping Cassie Watter.

In closing, “there should never be a reasonable legal excuse for a Domestic or International Parental Kidnapping”

– The Editor, Family Abduction Watch

The Detroit Free Press is reporting that the new judge assigned to the Tsimhoni Case, Circuit Judge Joan Young told Maya Tsimhoni (Maya Eibschitz) and Omer Tsimhoni, along with their attorneys, that the court would no longer tolerate derisive or disparaging comments from any of the parties about each other, their attorneys or the court.

[Read More]

Editor’s Note:

• We applaud Judge Joan Young for taking the first steps to de-escalate the conflict in this case. It is important that all parties respect the each other and the court.
• There has been a disturbing trend in these high conflict divorce and family abduction cases with the protective parent movement groups trying the case on social media. Some of these posts are similar to the cyber stalking, cyber bullying and digital domestic violence that has been seen in other similar cases.
• The Tsimhoni Case started with what we believe was a Family Abduction in Israel. The father came home from work one day and the mom left Israel with the kids for the United States. The father eventually moved back to Detroit, Michigan. As time has progressed, the conflict in this case has continued to escalate. Let’s hope that both parents can work toward the goal of attending their first kids’ high school graduation and being able to tolerate each other for that event.

Genevieve Kelley – Photo: NH1 file photo

Genevieve Kelley, was released from jail on February 17, 2016. She plead guilty in June to custodial interference for kidnapping her child to Honduras. The District Attorney in New Hampshire dropped the Felony custodial interference and witness tampering charges. The former doctor was not charged with any Federal Crimes.

Kelley’s second husband also plead guilty to custodial interference and served jail time. There were no other third parties charged with aiding and abetting in this crime.

Editor’s Note:

To this date, the kidnapped child who is now an adult has not yet been reunified with her searching family. I believe that doctors should be held to a higher standard and Genevieve Kelley should have been sentenced to prison for a much longer period. The District Attorney in New Hampshire may have saved the taxpayers the expense of a trial but in our opinion, should have done more. This outcome does not acknowledge the emotional trauma and abuse inflicted on parentally kidnapped children. It is an insult to the Family Abduction Community and the plight of searching parents. It wrongfully encourages protective moms to kidnap their child until they turn eighteen. The fact that the Kelleys have still not encouraged a reunification should invalidate the plea agreement. Genevieve and Scott Kelley are essentially still kidnapping this now adult child who most likely has Stockholm Syndrome. I don’t believe there has been a recent independent psychiatric evaluation of the victim adult child since she was found. In this case, the New Hampshire criminal legal system did not serve justice for any of the victims. With upcoming potential trials in Minnesota, Texas, New York, California and Utah — I hope those states do a better job.

Sandra Rucki – Alleged Parental Kidnapper

Sources are reporting that Sandra Rucki’s Criminal Trial is scheduled to start on July 18, 2016. The presiding judge is Karen Aspaugh.

In related news, Sandra Rucki was released from jail. She has been ordered not to leave Minnesota without written court approval (no more vacations in Florida, for the once proclaimed indigent Sandra Rucki). She is also restrained from contact, direct or indirect with her children (the victims of this crime) which includes email, facebook and blogging.

Editor’s Note:

• Sandra Rucki faces six felony counts of deprivation of parental rights. The County is also seeking an aggravated sentence. The Rucki Case is an important Teenager Family Abduction Case in that the prosecutor is also charging third party conspirators since the girls were recovered in the same state (Minnesota). In most cases, the third parties are in other states which makes prosecution more difficult.
• I am surprised that Sandra Rucki was not required to wear an ankle bracelet as part of her release.
• The Teenager Family Abduction Case is an important case for sending a message to divorcing parents and their children that they must follow Custody Orders.

Gina Dahlen (Photo: Facebook)

The Star Tribune is reporting that Gina and Scott Dahlen, who are charged with felony deprivation of parental rights are claiming that they made no effort to hide the Rucki girls.

What the Gina and Scott Dahlen do not admit to is knowing that they knew that law enforcement was searching for the girls. That they knew a nationwide campaign was in place to find the girls that included the girls’ photos on grocery bags.

Rucki Girls Photos on the Cashwise Grocery Bags

They are admitting that the girls’ mother Sandra Rucki and Dede Evavold dropped the girls off at their ranch. Dede Evavold has also be charged with felony deprivation of parental rights as a third party conspirator.

Gina Dahlen (Photo: Facebook)

The Dahlens claim that the girls had full access to computers and cellphones.

David Rucki, the custodial father of both 16 and 17 year-old girls now has the girls back in school. He says the Dahlens tried to “instill a racist, very judgmental” belief system in the girls.

Editor’s Note: 

• The successful prosecution of the Dahlens and Dede Evavold by Dakota County in Minnesota would be a giant step forward for future Family Abduction cases not only in Minnesota but the United States. This would go a long ways toward deterring other from helping parental abductors.
• The last significant prosecution of a third party conspirator was Faye Yager in 1992 by the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office in Georgia.
• I cannot believe that the Rucki girls were allowed to use the computers on White Horse Ranch and did not type their names in to Google to see the search results. I also do not believe if they were allowed to use their computer that they didn’t even check their Facebook account. I do not believe the Dahlens that they trusted these teenagers to this degree.
• We have not in the past heard much about the belief system of the “Family Court Critics” or “Protective Parent Movement”. This is one of the first times we have heard information about the tenets of these groups. At some point, some recovering parents have thought these groups to be almost “cult-like” in their belief system.
• We applaud Cashwise for allowing the photos of the missing Rucki girls to be put on their shopping bags. The families of Missing Children need more programs like this.

Source:

Star Tribune  by Brandon Stahl (03-09-2016)

Michelle Woferts Parental Kidnapper

The daughters of accused parental kidnapper Michelle Wolferts are headed back to Kansas per a Utah Judge’s Court Ruling. They have been ordered by the court to return to Kansas into their father’s custody.

Source:

Wolferts sisters court-ordered to return to Kansas with father by Kurt Hanson (Daily Herald, 03-31-2016)

Editor’s Note:

Michelle Woferts was venue or forum shopping in this case. She didn’t like the results of the custody ruling in Kansas so she finds a new venue or forum in Kansas. The Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) was drafted in 1997 and has been adopted by 49 states. The UCCJEA vests “exclusive [and] continuing jurisdiction for “child custody litigation in the courts of the child’s home state (Kansas).  The case belongs in Kansas and Michelle Wolferts and her oldest daughter Brittany Dangerfield were creating another forum and using the media as outlined in the protective parent playbook.

Dara Llorens – Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison

Austin Texas protective parent Dara Llorens was sentenced to 6 Years in Prison in the 2002 kidnapping for her daughter. Dara Llorens, 46 was sentenced to two years for the charge of interference with child custody and six years for aggravated kidnapping. Both charges to be served concurrently. She could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Source:

Dara Llorens sentenced to 6 years for kidnapping daughter by Andy Jechow, KXAN

Editor’s Note:

This was a 12-year kidnapping and Dara Llorens and her punishment was far less than the 12 years she kidnapped her daughter. Although Llorens did plead guilty and spared the public the expense of a jury trial although she did raise the “necessity defense” at her sentencing hearing. We would like to see new legislation to make the penalties harsher for long-term family abductions. The punishment should fit the crime and the horrible nature of these crime and the impact on these children.

Damon Moelter – Poster Child

Move aside Jennifer Collins, Brittany Wolferts and Samantha Geldenhuys the current poster child of the Protective Parent Network / Family Court Critics Movement is Damon Moelter. Damon is the son of Safe Kids International Founder Cindy Dumas who lost custody of her children. Damon will make his National Television debut tonight on 20/20 where he will claim there are thousands of protective parent moms like his mother.

For the real truth of Damon’s story, you should visit www.ericmoelter.com to see his father and step mother’s version of the story. Then you might even listen to the Voice Mails of his mother and protective parent Cindy Dumas on that site. Dumas appears to be a very bitter, scorned and vengeful protective mom that continues to harass her former spouse who has since remarried. Ms. Dumas even attacks her son’s step mother who is a very successful corporate executive.

It’s truly sad to see an adult-child used in this manner. It’s possible he might have Stockholm Syndrome like some of the other parentally kidnapped children but tonight American will see what this adult poster child is all about. There were many children like him that changed their name or told their parents like Madonna and Guy Ritche’s son to just give them their privacy. But Damon has his mother’s DNA and appears to think tonight’s performance will make him a TV sensation rather than just a glorified version of character that could also have been on the Jerry Springer show.

Sandra Rucki Dede Evavold

Gina Dahlen – Arrested Doug Dahlen – Arrested

On Friday, April 8, 2016 ABC News 20/20 will air a Parental Kidnapper and her Protective Parent Supporter’s pathetic story. It is the start of their “publicity defense” in this Teenager Family Abduction Case. On this day when Madonna is in London for peace talks with her son over her custody dispute with her former spouse, protective parent Sandra Rucki and her three co-conspirators took a different path. They committed one of the most horrible acts of child maltreatment, they kidnapped these teenagers for 2 years. All of them have been charged with felony deprivation of parental rights. Sandra Rucki is also being charged with an aggravated sentence.

ABC News Reporters Sean Dooley, Gail Deutsch and Alexa Valiente will be put on trial by the Family Abduction Community which always feels that the media is insensitive to the plight of searching parents in these parental kidnapping cases. The searching parent and the local Minnesota community searched for these kids for two years. A local grocery store even put the girls photos on thousands of shopping bags yet the girls were not found. The girls were eventually located only hours away in a very remote area of Minnesota.

In Family Abduction Cases, third parties conspirators are rarely prosecuted because they are usually in other states or countries. The prosecution of  these conspirators Dede Evavold (a political consultant in the campaign of Michelle MacDonald) and Gina and Doug Dahlen is being closely monitored by the Family Abduction Community. This is also one of the first prosecutions in a very long time of a supporter of the Protective Parent or Family Court Critic Network. The last prosecution was in 1992 of Faye Yager in Cobb County, Georgia.

We hope ABC News 20/20 shows a balanced story in their reporting tonight.

Source:
Timeline: How Parents’ Bitter Divorce and Custody Battle Led to the Disappearance of Two Sisters

“You sat right here and spent half an hour saying you have not seen or spoken to your daughters … if you are lying to me about that, what else might you be lying to me about?” – Elizabeth Vargas to Sandra Rucki

Watch the ABC News 20/20 Show

One of the witnesses in the Sandra Rucki Criminal Trial will not be around for it. Dale Nathan Age 81 of St. Paul, Minnesota passed on April 9, 2016. He was in the car when Sandra Rucki allegedly kidnapped her daughters. He was also a potential witness in the prosecution of Dede Evavold, Gina Dahlen and Doug Dahlen. However, he does appear on the ABC 20/20 recently aired broadcast.

In March, Bobby Hernandez was sentenced to four years in prison for taking his 5-year old son from his mother’s house in Alabama in 2002 and living with him under false identities for 13 years. He had faced up to 54 years in prison.

He plead guilty to 15 charges: two counts of felony kidnapping, 10 of tampering with records, two of interference with custody and one of forgery. Seventeen other charges were dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Source:

Ohio man sentenced to four years for kidnapping son from mother (Reuters, 04-13-16)

In this age of co-parenting and joint custody, with other not so famous families quarreling over custody (Tsimhoni, Wolferts, Rucki) it’s great to see Madonna find a way to compromise and work toward sharing custody with her former spouse. While we still think that her former spouse may have participated in a Teenager Family Abduction, Madonna has taken the high road and most importantly respected the Family Courts involved.

Could it be that the Family Court System does work and it only doesn’t work if parents are not cooperative and don’t show respect for court orders?

In the upcoming Tsimhoni vs. Tsimhoni Family Law Trial, Maya Tsimhoni has brought in two pro bono attorneys through Child Justice, a non-profit protective parent organization. Child Justice has been known over the years to provide pro bono legal representation for protective parents. This was the original legal business model for the Protective Parent Cause which was thought to be outdated since protective parents normally have to engage in acts of civil disobedience to get representation. Surprisingly, the attorneys Gregory Jacob and Dave Dorey are lawyers at the firm of O’Melveny & Meyers.

In 2014, Child Justice partnered with the Boston University School of Communications (Garland Waller / in the Holly Ann Collins Protective Parent Case) in a Protective Parent Video about the Family Court System. The video is produced by Hothouse Productions (Garland Waller / Eileen King and Joyanna Silberg). Dr. Joyanna Silberg has is one of the expert witnesses with long ties to the Protective Parent Community (Leadership Council, Center for Judicial Excellence).

With the addition of Gregory F. Jacob (Partner) and Dave Dorey (Associate), it’s likely that Maya Tsimhoni will once again try and inject her custody case into the National Media. It is clear that she does not want to co-parent and she does not care the impact a trial and its related publicity will have on her teenage children. She will use it to once again disparage her former spouse. Let’s hope that the judge issues a gag order on all parties involved and locks the courtroom to the media which should be standard in any juvenile court case.

Jacob Gregory, Protective Parent Attorney

Dave Dorey, Protective Parent Attorney

Eileen King, Child Justice Protective Parent Organization

Dr. Joyanna Silberg – Protective Parent Expert Witness

Garland Waller – Boston University

Editor’s Note: It is shocking that the law firm of O’Melveny & Meyers would support Child Justice, a organization that is clearly against co-parenting. The statistics on the Child Justice website are similar to those misleading statistics used by Domestic Violence Organizations in the ’80s and ’90s. Child Justice claims that ten million children are exposed to domestic violence each year (in the United States/in the World?) and 58,000 children are living with an abusive, negligent or predatory parent. It is truly disappointing that the firm’s lawyers and clients would support the protective parent cause.

The Tsimhoni Case will be a precedence setting case for the Family Law Court System in Michigan. It sure sounds like the Family Court System is on trial in this case. The Protective Parent/Family Court Critic Network now has:

• The Protective Parent Custody Case – litigant and protective mom Maya Tsimhoni who will do or say just about anything rather than agree to co-parent her children
• The Protective Parent Attorneys – From O’Melveny & Meyers in Washington DC
• The Protective Parent Expert Witness – Joyanna Silberg can’t wait to give hours of testimony about everything that has nothing to do with the Tsimhoni Custody Case
• The Protective Parent Extremist Activist – Eileen King, her organization will do or say almost anything to promote their cause
• The Publicity – Garland Waller did the video with Joyanna Silberg and Eileen King using Boston University students. Now is the time they can promote their video without regard to the Tsimhoni children’s privacy.
• The Tsimhoni Teenage Children – Maya Tsimhoni is trying to make them poster children for this cause – maybe they should take note of Madonna’s son Rocco Ritchie and tell their myopic and narcissist mom to respect their privacy?

Michelle Woferts – Parental Kidnapping is Abuse

It is commonly said that one of the most severe forms of Domestic Violence is kidnapping your children. That’s what Michelle Wolferts being criminally prosecuted for. With the parental kidnapping, there is also parental alienation. It’s easy to surmise that Michelle Wolferts did not and does not have kind words to say about the children’s father — just check the Internet.

On May 5, 2016, in the 4th District Court, American Fork Department Family Court Judge Christine Johnson ruled to keep the Wolferts teenagers in Kansas with their custodial father. As is common in these cases, the court ordered an evaluation. The Special Master Sandra Dredge was ordered to provide the court with the name of the potential neutral evaluator. As also expected, the protective parent will attempt to insert a non-neutral member of the protective parent network to perform an evaluation. After a parental kidnapping with a criminal trial also moving forward, the Family Court is tasked with reunifying the parental kidnapper with her children.

In the course of the proceedings, Michelle Wolfert’s Attorney Kathleen McConkie represented that Michelle Wolfert’s knew she was wrong by kidnapping her children. This is shocking since Michelle Wolferts has plead not guilty for those criminal charges. McConkie, the protective parent attorney asked the court to remove the children from the custodial parent’s home, but could cite no Utah Law or legal basis to the judge to do so.

There was also a motion to replace the children’s Guardian ad Litem attorney Kacy Borlik. In a case like this, Ms. Borlik is no doubt be pressured by the local protective parent community to rule for mother.

Finally, a neutral party would need to be selected to supervise the visitation with Michelle Wolferts and her children. Of course Michelle Wolferts did not have a named neutral and trained third party setup to do the supervised visitation. This is also common, the protective parent typically wants her non-neutral party to do the supervision.

Editor’s Note: The GAL Attorney represented that these teenagers were not allowed to use the Internet other than for their school work. With the daily postings by Michelle Wolferts and her supporters, why wouldn’t this be in the best interest of these children?

These protective moms below believe their Family Law Court Cases are so much different than the others, even celebrities Kelly Rutherford and Madonna. After their divorce from their former spouse, they did or are doing everything to never coparent with their ex again. Even as parents to adult children who are over eighteen, they will do anything to keep their adult children away from their former spouse. Again, we have to ask the question, are their cases really that much different than those of celebrities whom get divorced or the hundreds of thousands of parents sharing custody of their children today?

Hannah Engdahl with her mother Melissa and sister Cedar (ABC.NET.AU)

The most comprehensive study into the long-term effects of international child abduction found more than 70 per cent of the children involved reported suffering significant effects on their mental health.

British researcher and family law specialist Dr Marilyn Freeman conducted the study which was released last year.

She found children who had been abducted spoke repeatedly about their confusion, feelings of shame, self-hate, loneliness and insecurity.

The study concluded more must be done to protect children from parental abduction and its effects.

Source:

Parental abductions: 70 per cent of children suffer significant mental health effects, report finds by Tracy Bowden and Jodie Noyce (ABC.NET.AU, 23 May 2016)

The recent case of Brisbane Australia mum Sally Faulkner and the botched operation to recover her two young children from their father in Lebanon has renewed attention on the issue of international parental abduction.

Australia has one of the highest per capita rates in the world of parents unlawfully kidnapping their children and fleeing with them overseas, and in the last financial year alone, there were 114 ongoing Australian applications of child abduction to Hague Convention signatories.

In the event a child is taken to a country that is a member of the Hague Convention, steps can be taken via the international agreement to mediate custody battles. However, a legal resolution becomes infinitely more difficult if this is not the case like in countries as such India, China and Lebanon.

[Read more]

Source:

Six famous cases of parental abduction in Australia by Bianca Soldani 30 May 2016

Editor’s Note: In the aftermath of the media coverage given to American Mother and convicted parental kidnapper Dorothy Lee Barnett, it appears that the Australian Media is finally giving needed coverage to other International Family Abduction cases in Australia.