David Goldman thought he was happily married in 2004 when he dropped his wife Bruna and four-year-old son Sean (pictured with David) off at the Newark International Airport for a flight to Brazil to visit her parents.  Goldman thought they were going to be gone for two weeks.  He was wrong.  The day she arrived, Bruna called David to say she was going to file for divorce, wasn't coming back to the States and was keeping Sean with her.  She added that if he ever wanted to see Sean again, he would have to relinquish custody to her.

That made it a child-kidnapping case under the Hague Abduction Convention which is clear that, when requested to do so by the government of the country from which the child was taken, the country in which the child resides shall cause the child to be returned.  But that was almost five years ago and Sean Goldman still has not been reunited with his father.

In the meantime, Bruna Goldman divorced David and married a Brazilian attorney, become pregnant and died in childbirth.  Apparently, the man she married had David's name removed from Sean's birth certificate.  David's custody fight is no longer with his wife, but with her ex-husband whose family is highly influential. 

And Brazil has a record of harboring wives who kidnap their children.  British Professor Martin Boyle tried to get his child back when his wife absconded with her to Brazil, and spent time in a Brazilian jail for his trouble.  He never did get his daughter back, again despite the clear dictates of the law.  (See GlennSacks.com blog post "British Professor held in Rat-Infested Brazilian Jail," and the follow-up to it.)

Goldman's is no run-of-the-mill case.  It's gotten the attention of The New York Times, CNN, the Associated Press, Larry King and many other prominent media outlets.  New Jersey Congressman, Christopher Smith accompanied him on his most recent trip to Brazil and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has raised the case at the "highest levels" of the Brazilian government.

Needless to say, not every father has that kind of backing, but so far it has accomplished nothing. The Brazilian courts still ignore the Hague treaty to which the country is a signatory.  The Brazilian stepfather still has Sean.  David Goldman still spends time and money in a so-far-vain attempt to get back the son whom every applicable law says he is entitled to.

I believe that he will eventually prevail.  When the Secretary of State's office lines up behind you, you've got to feel pretty good about your chances.  And even Brazilian courts acknowledge that Sean was removed illegally.

But be careful, David.  In child custody matters, courts routinely deprive fathers of custody solely because, according to them, sufficient time has passed for the child to have "bonded" with his/her new parents.

The passage of time always works against the parent who doesn't have possession of the child.  As former Assistant Secretary of State Bernard Aronson says, "Time is the enemy." That's true even though the parent was illegally deprived of his/her child, as in David Goldman's case.

For more information and to sign David's petition, go to his website here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Family Law, Fathers' Rights/Noncustodial parents' rights, Children's Rights, Crime/Criminal Justice System/Police, Divorce/Separation/Child Custody, Parental Kidnapping, Bills/Initiatives, Elections, Politics, Court Cases.