Has anyone heard about this father's plight?

I was watching Dateline this evening and this story came on about an American man who married a Brazilian citizen. they lived in New Jersey, had a beautiful baby and then when the baby was 4 years old, the mom went "on vacation" and never returned. She went back home to Brazil and refused to allow the son to see his father....she remarried and eventually died leaving the child without a natural parent in Brazil, but one who wants his return in the United States.

Read the story here......http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28878143/

The Brazilian "step-dad" has filed a motion to keep the child in Brazil despite the State Departments efforts and despite the Brazilian Courts ordering him to be returned.....the step father is siting "socio-effective paternity"....meaning he is the most qualified to rear the child since he has been with him this long..he has also asked that the natural father's name be erased from the "Brazilian" birth certificate (the child was born in New Jersey)

What do you all think?? Brazil or New Jersey??

Oh yeah....I put this in this forum as I think this relates in many ways to adoption.....
Additional Details
This battle has been raging for four years. Now the child doesn't even have a parent in Brazil and he does remember his father, albeit, the memories are fading. Now, it is basically a step parent hostage situation rather than a parent abduction as the parent who abducted is dead. . The step dad is also a high powered family law attorney who is in a law firm with his father who goes around the world and lectures on the Hague Convention regarding INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION!!

Independ"ant"

This happens all the time.

I do think he should get sole custody of his son especially since the child's mother is out of the picture. This was done against his will and he has a right to parent his child.

As far as this being in the Adoption section.......this case isn't even as bad as what US/CANADIAN citizens do to foreign natural parents who have had their children kidnapped and sold to them.

What the heck is the US govt doing to help Guatemalan women that are protesting, going on hunger strikes and dealing with the Guate bureaucracy to find their kidnapped children living in the US with STRANGERS. Nothing!

Our gov'ts KNOW there are children that have been illegally adopted and won't do the right thing and return the children back to their families. Our gov't knows that these indigenous women do not have the money to search and find their babies.

"It is just horrendous what money, power and influence will get you. You can write your own laws!!"

Yes....I totally agree......especially when you have $20+G to donate.

Randy B

The bio father should certainly have custody of his son however I'm sure there will be those who will argue that the child will therefore be deprived of his culture and language now that thats all he knows.

This sad tail has happened to plenty of others as well. There was one man here in Canada who's children are now in the Middle East somewhere and there is another one who's daughter is now in Poland. Same type of situation.

Kate

This made me sick, I am hoping and praying that one day the boy will be returned to his biological father.

I watched it tonight, horrible, down right horrible what the biological father and son are going through.

143x0

I watched that tonight too. I felt soo bad for the dad! He really deserves his kid back and I hope that's what happens. I don't see how that girl did that to him! Poor guy

Timid Women Rarely Make History

The biological father should get custody. Not his fault the mother went psycho and ran off with his child.

SJM

I can't believe anyone would think it's in the best interest of the child to remain with some wealthy thug his mother took up with. A Naval blockade is overkill, however. Get a fix on the kid. Keep him under surveillance long enough to drop some troops, grab him, and bring him home. Seriously.

Cybil_Bennet

I have heard of this story several times. But, Mom's rights, Dad's rights, Step-Dad's rights - who cares? At one point in time the father could have gone down to Brazil and done something, or even contacted the US embassy that a citizen was kidnapped and brought there, but from my understanding he hasn't tried any legal action. This has been going on for a long time, and the boy is so old now he needs to be considered more than the parental units. What is in HIS best interest as everything is laid out today? Yes, it is his bio father, but it will rip that boys world apart to leave the only home he's known for 4 years (and never see his step-father again I'd imagine).

Obviously, his step-father loves him very much or he wouldn't go through this. I'm sure his father does too, which is why this is such a tough issue.

I have trouble believing that the mother left by surprise too. If you marry any foreign person, you have to have it in the back of your mind that they may want to go home someday and consider that in a list of realistic possibilities. Obviously she was not very happy or else she wouldn't have disappeared, so we don't know what kind of things happened behind closed doors, and with the mother dead we likely never will. A better question to me is, why did he let her leave the country with their son if he wasn't going with them?

It all goes right back to Illian Gonzales (probably spelling that wrong, sorry) in 2000. Remember, his mother died on the raft taking him to the US. The little boy got to his uncle's and stayed there, but his father, who had done nothing wrong, wanted his son back. The US offered him $1million to move here with his son, but he refused. It ended with the military having to take the child back at gun point and a lot of media coverage about what a sad story it was. A lot of American's thought that it was wrong to take the boy back to Cuba to be with his natural father, so I'm sure a lot of Brazilian's feel the same way about this boy. Perspectives change based on where you're standing!

As for the Guatemalan children being "stolen" I just don't buy that. I'm sure cases do occur, but not that often. In the end the government of Guatemala has decided that these kids are orphans and have willingly given them up to citizens of other countries. Look into Russian women, there are a great deal that like to use the orphanages as private day cares so they can go off and do whatever they please. Then, they expect to come back, sometimes years later, and have their child waiting there for them and for the government to just hand them back over! Then they whine and cry that they were tricked! Well, what did you think was going to happen when you abandoned your child like that? Orphanages aren't free day cares!

Filori

Well, just see who the child wishes to follow. And to keep his memories from fading, when he grows up, just tell him the truth.

LadyCatherine

some will hate me but I think that it comes down to the 'best interest of the child' and since the child has been with the step parent how long, then he needs to stay with him.. sorry.. I feel bad for the bio father

BrewerB

I saw that I think the US should put an embargo on brazil and a Naval blockade in every port until they return him to the US.

I feel bad for him and if Brazil is ignoring us so easily about this it could escalate, we should nip it in the bud.

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