After breaking up, some couples remain enemies. It would seem that not so long ago a man and a woman loved each other and were happy. But due to conflicts of interest, betrayal and other reasons, they began to hate each other. After a divorce, many spouses wage wars to the death.
The ex-wife and husband strive with all their might to prove that they are right and superior. They take revenge on each other, but in the end, only the common child, watching what is happening from the side, suffers. In this case, it is he who becomes the hostage of one of the parents.
A father or mother can kidnap a child and take him to an unknown direction. Often children are also hidden behind high fences of country estates. What to do if the father stole the child?
Can a father take a child without the mother's consent?
If the mother and father of a joint child no longer want to live together in a shared apartment or house, then they file for divorce. Children often suffer due to this difficult situation.
During a lengthy court process, parents must decide which of them will have their baby after the divorce papers are completed. It is also important to determine how the baby will communicate with the other party. The most important thing is the comfort and mental state of the child.
As you know, the separation of beloved parents is a serious psychological trauma for every child, especially small ones. Due to his age, the baby does not quite understand why mom and dad no longer want to be together. He begins to think that he is the reason.
In most of these situations, parents have to seek help from professionals, since we are talking about childhood psychological trauma. During a divorce, there are a variety of situations. Sometimes the mother of a minor child is not trustworthy. She doesn’t look after the child at all, doesn’t buy him food or clothes, and refuses to care for the baby.
Some unscrupulous mothers leave their child completely alone and live the way they want. These women care little about the needs of the baby. Even if the court has decided that the baby remains with the mother, the father has the right to take the child with him.
This is permissible if the child cannot continue to stay with such a mother. There is a possibility that he may suffer not only psychologically, but also physically. This is due to the fact that the unfortunate mother does not monitor her child at all.
It should be noted that according to the law, divorced parents are not exempt from the responsibility to care for their offspring . That is why, if the mother refuses to properly fulfill her basic maternal responsibilities, the father has the right to take the children away from her. A negligent mother can go to court.
Most likely, she will not be able to win this process. There are guardianship authorities that put the interests of children above all else. They can start their own investigation. After this, they give an opinion to the court, which states with whom it is better for the child to live after the parents’ divorce.
If the mother is unable to provide proper care for the baby, as well as when she abuses alcohol and does not have a regular income, then she may be deprived of parental rights.
Children stay with their father, especially if he is truly trustworthy. But does the father have the right to take his own child from kindergarten, school or group without telling the mother about it? According to current legislation, he has the right to do so.
Of course, if he is not deprived of parental rights. But as a human being, this should not be done. When a man is angry with his ex-wife, he cares little about the feelings of the child. This suggests that dad simply does not love his child.
In this situation, such an act can be regarded either as monstrous, unforgivable irresponsibility, or a banal desire to bring as much suffering and pain to one’s former lover as possible. Some fathers take advantage of their right to see their child and take him away for the weekend without the mother's consent.
This behavior is completely unacceptable. Civilized people try to come to an agreement with each other in such a way as to traumatize children as little as possible by the decision to break off relations.
They don’t always understand why mom and dad break up. After a divorce, children have to exist without mom or dad, who are forced to live separately. It is very sad when a child becomes a bargaining chip in the parents’ efforts to prove something to each other.
And if a mother comes to a preschool institution and is told that someone has already taken her child, she can contact the police so that they can find him.
Motives and goals
As already mentioned, the abduction of a child (or an adult) is purposeful. Almost always this action is performed for selfish purposes, for profit. But what is most common in practice?
Theft may be carried out for subsequent resale of the citizen. Human trafficking is widespread underground in many countries. So that no one looks for or suspects the sellers, they are engaged in kidnappings. Even the Hague Convention is not a threat to kidnappers. She is known to protect the rights of people, and children in particular.
In addition, there is the receipt of material or property benefits from relatives (parents, friends, family members, acquaintances) of the abducted person. In this case, the kidnappers make certain demands for the release of the captive. The most common crime is kidnapping for ransom. They demand a certain amount of money to return a person. This is perhaps the most common case.
Next is the extraction of any intangible benefit. For example, the abduction of a child may be committed with the aim of demanding the resignation of parents from certain positions. Intangible benefits are also not so rare. Therefore, you shouldn’t be surprised. It is usually combined with a ransom.
Another option is not so much human trafficking as the sale of a child to potential new parents. Very often, such abductions occur in relation to newborn children or very young children. People who are unable to have a child in principle, or those who have lost one, as well as those who are unable to give birth to a healthy person, are willing to pay for the adoption of a newborn. Or just a healthy baby. Therefore, sometimes the abduction of a child has a motive for resale, but hidden. Prospective guardians pay kidnappers for, say, adoption fees, but have no idea that the baby has been kidnapped.
If the father took the child from the mother, what to do?
If the parents are divorced, but the father still loves his child, then you need to calmly agree on a schedule of visits with the baby. A father has the right to communicate with his child. While defending justice, we should not forget about the mother’s feelings.
There is no need to steal children from kindergarten without her consent. In such cases, a man is often guided not by love for the child, but by revenge. A good mother, after discovering that her baby has been stolen, will immediately look for him with the help of police officers. But whether after this there will be an opportunity to peacefully agree with her about seeing the child is unknown.
As noted earlier, if the father stole a child together from his ex-wife without prior warning, then the mother has the right to contact law enforcement agencies demanding that the baby be returned to her immediately.
Such disputes are considered in court. The latter determines whether dad will be allowed to see his child or not. During the case, you will need to find out the child’s opinion. His interests are necessarily taken into account.
Moreover, after reaching the age of ten, the child has the right to express his personal opinion on many things. He can also decide for himself with whom he wants to live at the present time.
In any case, it is important that the mother always knows where her daughter or son is.
What is kidnapping?
But what kind of action are we talking about? It is not always possible to fully understand what exactly and what punishment will be imposed. Abduction is the removal of a person from his usual way of life. Moreover, it was violent, committed against one’s will. Accompanied by subsequent detention of the citizen outside the home.
The abduction of a child or adult can be accomplished through the use of violence, threats, deception or any other trick. If a person himself wants to disappear and no one is holding him against his will in one place or another, then a violation cannot be considered as such. This is no longer a kidnapping.
Usually there is a specific motive for an act committed. It could be anything. As a rule, kidnapping requires the relatives of the kidnapped person to take some action against the kidnappers. For profit's sake. Why do kidnappings happen so often? Why are they made specifically?
What to do if your common-law husband stole a child?
In this case, it is important to find out whether the common-law spouse is the legal father of the child. If he is recorded on the baby’s birth certificate, then it should be understood that by law he has the right to take part in the upbringing.
In a situation where the mother does not know the whereabouts of her daughter or son, she can file a complaint with the police . It's about kidnapping. The application should include all detailed information on the specified fact.
If you know for sure that the baby is with the father, you need to write about it. If there is complete inaction of law enforcement officers, then you need to complain to higher management. You still need to contact the prosecutor's office. Only in this way will the application bring positive results.
If the former cohabitant is not included in the birth certificate as the father of a daughter or son, then the first step is to provide the police with evidence that the child is being illegally retained. When the father is documented, then according to the law one should file a lawsuit to determine the child’s place of residence.
It should be understood that the father, just like the mother, has equal rights in relation to his son or daughter. That is why any decisions related to the upbringing and maintenance of the baby must be made together.
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Elizabeth Shoaf, North Carolina - 10 days
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In 2006, 14-year-old Elizabeth Shoaf was held captive by Vinson Filiawa for 10 days. Filyav arrested Elizabeth by posing as a police officer. Then he brought her to the forest, where he first dug a bunker in the ground. He kept her in the bunker completely naked and chained by the neck. While he was driving her, Elizabeth threw away her shoes somewhere in the forest along the way in the hope that they would be able to find her. Later, when she had gained the trust of her captor and received permission to leave the underground bunker, she would tear out strands of hair and throw them on the ground for the same purpose. Elizabeth eventually managed to escape by sending an SMS to her mother from her kidnapper’s phone after he fell asleep. Seeing on TV that the police were looking for him, Filyav tried to escape, and Elizabeth got out of the bunker outside. She was found in the forest and taken to the hospital. Her kidnapper was found and sentenced to 421 years in prison.
Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight, Cleveland - 10 years and 9 months
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Michel was the first of three kidnapped by Ariel Castro. This happened in 2002 and she was 21 years old. Eight months later, Castro kidnapped 17-year-old Amanda Berry, and a year later, Gina DeJesus, who was only 14. Castro tricked Michelle into his home. The police didn't look very hard for her because of her age. In Castro's house, Michelle was chained by her arms, legs and neck, and she was not fed until the third day after the abduction. Castro repeatedly beat and brutally raped Michelle. Over the course of 10 years, she became pregnant with him at least 5 times, and all pregnancies ended in miscarriages due to constant beatings and hunger. After Amanda Berry joined her, Castro chained them to each other. Berry also became pregnant with his child and gave birth to a child. Michelle helped deliver the baby. A year later, a third captive was added to them, a 14-year-old girl, Gina. Her abduction was not witnessed, so the AMBER Alert system was not activated. On the day of the escape, in April 2013, it was Berry who managed to make contact with neighbors after Castro forgot to lock the house's massive interior door. The outside door was tightly locked, but Berry screamed when she saw her neighbor through the screen in the door. Berry and her 6-year-old daughter managed to get out. Berry called 911 from neighbors and said, “Help me. I'm Amanda Berry. I was kidnapped and was considered missing for 10 years. And I'm here. Now i am free". Castro was arrested the same day and convicted of kidnapping, rape, murder, attempted murder and assault. He was sentenced to 1,000 years in prison, but a month later he hanged himself in his cell.
Steven Steiner, California - 7 years, 3 months and 10 days
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In 1972, Steven Steiner was only seven years old when he was kidnapped by confirmed child molester Kenneth Parnell, who convinced him to get into his car. The next morning he raped him. The kidnapper told the boy that his parents didn't want him because they had too many children, and that he was now his legal guardian. He gave him a different name - Dennis Gregory Parnell - and sent him to study at various schools over the following years. When Stephen grew up and ceased to be of interest to his kidnapper, he began to look for a younger victim. He eventually kidnapped 5-year-old Timothy White. In 1980, while Parnella was at work (he worked as a security guard), Stephen took Timmy with him and ran away. They made their way to Ukiah, where Timmy was from, but could not find his home address and Stephen took him to the police. The boys were identified and returned to their families. Parnell was arrested and convicted of kidnapping, but was not tried for sexual assault. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but he only served five. Stephen Steiner died in a traffic accident in 1989 at age 24. Timmy, who was already 14 years old in 1989, helped carry his coffin at Stephen's funeral.
Fusako Sano, Japan - 9 years, 2 months
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9-year-old Fusako Sano was kidnapped in 1990. She was kidnapped by 28-year-old mentally ill Nobuyuki Sato, who lived with his elderly mother. He kept Fusako in a room on the top floor. His house was only 200 meters from the local police station. Authorities searched his home but did not find Fusako. For the first few months, Fusako was kept tied up. The kidnapper repeatedly beat her and threatened her with a knife, and also punished her with a stun gun. Sato gave her his clothes and cut her hair. Although the doors were never locked, Fusako never attempted to escape. At first she was too scared, then she lost strength and energy and gave up. Nine years later, it was Sato's mother who reported to authorities that her son was acting strangely and aggressively. Fusako was found, and Sato was arrested and sentenced to 14 years in prison. Fusako never fully recovered. She has the mind of a child and severe post-traumatic mental disorder.
Grounds for deprivation of parental rights.
Issues of deprivation of parental rights are resolved in the RF IC, as in Art. 69 of this law provides an exhaustive list of grounds on which a parent is deprived of his rights regarding a child.
Let us characterize each of the grounds:
Failure to fulfill the duties assigned to these persons, as parents, regarding the upbringing and participation in the life of the child.
From the established judicial practice, we can confidently say that this paragraph is applicable when one regularly ignores one’s responsibilities, which, as a rule, are related to the primary needs of a minor (for example, the need for food, clothing, etc.).
Thus, practice includes a large number of decisions where fathers were deprived of parental rights due to malicious evasion of payment of funds for the maintenance of their child.
Malice is established within the framework of criminal proceedings, namely under Art. 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and a guilty verdict will serve as a legal fact confirming maliciousness.
Refusal of the child to pick him up from the organizations in which he is temporarily placed (maternity hospital, shelter and other similar organizations).
In this case, the court must establish the fact of a voluntary refusal to take the child into the family.
If this happened during difficult life situations or was caused by some kind of emergency, then the court will not have the right to deprive such a father of parental rights.
Circumstances include illness, long-term hospital treatment, and so on.
Abuse of your rights as a parent.
This reason, unfortunately, is associated with the immoral side of the issue.
At the court hearing, it is necessary to present facts where the father involves the child in begging, prostitution and other immoral acts.
Child abuse.
This reason for deprivation is the second most popular, after refusal to pay alimony.
Often, dads believe that raising a child is possible only with a firm hand, therefore, they use physical force for all sorts of offenses, and the child associates a bad grade at school with the fact that he is threatened with physical pain as punishment.
Recognition of the father as a drug addict or alcoholic.
The state is focused on protecting children in every possible way from the harmful effects on the consciousness and upbringing of the child.
When considering such a case, the courts usually do not find out for a long time the motives of the plaintiff, the position of the defendant and other circumstances.
In cases of this nature, a certificate from a psychoneurological dispensary is sufficient, where an unfavorable description is contained on the data of the fathers.
The procedure becomes complicated only if the father is not officially recognized as such, then witness testimony is used.
Committing a crime against the child himself or his mother.
In this case, the domestic legislator, fearing for the life and health of the child, decided to deprive him of parental rights.
Malicious evasion of alimony payment: how long, Criminal Code, judicial practice.
Natasha Kampusch, Austria – 8 years, 5 months
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In 1998, 10-year-old Natasha Kampusch was dragged into a white van on her way to school. Her trace was lost for 8 years. Her kidnapper was technician Wolfgang Priklopil. He locked her in a tiny (5' x 5') soundproof basement with no windows underneath his house. The door was very strong and carefully hidden from prying eyes. For the first six months, Natasha was not allowed to leave the basement. She lost track of time and did not see daylight. Later she was allowed to go upstairs and restore order in the upper rooms. He had a terrible obsessive-compulsive disorder and forced Natasha to completely lick his house. He beat her every time he found even a fingerprint somewhere, and for any reason at all. He forced her to cover her hair with a plastic bag and eventually just started shaving her head. For eight years, Natasha was beaten, starved and forced to walk around half-naked. One day Priklopil made the mistake of asking Natasha to vacuum his car. At that moment the phone rang in the house and he went to answer the call. Natasha ran as fast as she could, not having the slightest idea where she was. She ran to the nearest house, knocked on the door and shouted: “I am Natasha Kampusch!”, assuming that the police were looking for her and her name should be well known. When Natasha escaped, she was 18 years old, weighed barely 45 kg, and had only grown 15 cm since her abduction. Shortly after Natasha's escape, Priklopil committed suicide by jumping in front of a train. Natasha grieved his death, which led experts to believe that she suffered from Stockholm syndrome. In 2010, she published a book called “3096 Days,” which was also filmed. Only in 2013 did Natasha admit that Priklopil regularly raped her; she had previously refused to admit it.
Shawn Hornbeck, Missouri - 4 years and 3 months
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In 2002, Sean was 11 years old and was riding his bike when he was kidnapped by Michael Devlin Jr. He spent more than four years in captivity. For the first month, he was tied to the sofa and his mouth was taped shut. His captor threatened that if he tried to escape, he would kill him. For four years he was humiliated and raped. But this was not enough for the kidnapper: he forced Sean to take the name Sean Devlin and pose for porn photographs and videos. Four years later, Devlin kidnapped another boy, 13-year-old Ben Ownby, and Ben's neighbor Mitchell Hults remembered Devlin's truck. After 4 days, the police came with a search and found Ben, but the most surprising thing for them was that they also found Sean Hornbeck there. Michael Devlin was convicted of kidnapping, pedophilia and producing child pornography. The total term of his sentence was 1850 years. He has been serving his sentence since 2008.
