The boy, an American national, was born in California on 14 July 1993 to an American father and a Spanish mother. Thereafter, the parents separated, the mother alleging that the father had committed acts of domestic violence. In an interim hearing the mother was awarded exclusive custody of the child.
On 1 March 1995 the mother was ordered to attend a subsequent hearing and prohibited from leaving the country without judicial authorization or the permission of the father. Nevertheless on 4 March the mother took the boy to Spain. The Californian court proceeded to grant both parents physical and legal custody of the child.
On 18 October 1995 a return petition was filed in Spain. In decisions dated 3 February 1996 and 31 May 1996 the removal of the child to Spain was considered wrongful and a return order made. The mother refused to comply voluntarily with the order. Enforcement was then prevented when the mother went into hiding with the child. On 5 April 2004, the child was discovered and enforcement sought.
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