The children, two girls and one boy, were 4, 9 and 12 years old at the time of the alleged wrongful removal. The mother had lived with the biological father of the two younger children for 12 years, first in Canada and since 2001 in Florida.
They had married in 1998. In May 2008, the mother left the family home in Florida with her three children and sought refuge in a shelter, alleging that her husband was extremely abusive both physically and psychologically towards her and the children. Since her complaints had not been accepted by the local police, the mother went to Canada (Qu?bec) with the children where she had family.
In June 2008 the father applied for the return of the three children to Florida claiming rights under the Convention. In regard to the oldest child this was on an “in loco parentis” basis.
The children were placed under the protection of the child protection authorities in Qu?bec which determined that the children had been subjected to psychological ill-treatment as defined in the Youth Protection Act and that their security or development had been comprised.
The child protection authorities in Qu?bec established contact with officials of the Department of Family and Children Services in Florida which indicated that they would follow up the case should the children be returned to Florida. The father instituted divorce proceedings in Florida, with a hearing scheduled for 23 July, 2008.
Menu
