Bring Sean Home

[blazeno.8]

I don't know if anyone has heard about Bring Sean Home, but it's really heart wrenching. When I first saw the Dateline interview I said, "hm... something about this guy looks familiar." It turns out that he's an international model.

Seriously, how can the courts pretend like they have no power to bring Sean Goldman back to his father? Sean's step-father is a lawyer which I'm sure seriously complicates things, but avoiding court mandated visitation with his biological father? Then threatening the media for covering the topic? This guy shouldn't even be a lawyer.

sorry for the rant-like quality of this post, but there's really nothing else I can say; it's just so upsetting.

Check out MSNBC if you want to read the full story (I can put a link to the story if it's ok with the mods).

 

[M.A.C. head.]

Stories like this really suck, but the reality is that there really isn't much that can be done. This happened to a girl who I used to be friends with. Her son's father and his mother took their son. They ran away with him. She did everything she could [afford to] do. She even went to news stations, but they wouldn't cover her story. The reason is because: it's not kidnapping. As much as it sucks, when it's a parent that takes the child, there really isn't much you can do, especially when you can't even FIND them to serve them court papers.

 

[blazeno.8]

^ Well under the Hague Convention it's considered abduction which is illegal (read kidnapping). Brazil is a country that observes the Hague Convention. There is no reason why David was an unfit father and even in recorded conversations with the mother, she admits that. There should have at least been visitation set up, but she hid the son from that also. The son has even attempted to contact his father and the mother and stepfather took measures to stop him.
Also, the mother is dead. She died after giving birth to another kid. David is Sean's only living biological parent left. The measures that the stepfather has gone to force Sean to avoid Brazilian court ordered visitation with his father is unbelievable. If ignoring a court order isn't illegal, I don't know what is. The sad thing is, it's not a question of finding the stepfather; he's a practicing lawyer. It's more a question of officials taking measures to get the boy back.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Is this the same guy that was on Dr. Phil earlier this year? If it is, then yeah, that guy has no legal right to that child and IIRC even the Brazilian authorities agree.

 

[blazeno.8]

I didn't think that he was on Dr. Phil, I thought his only connection coverage wise was with MSNBC. I'll check.

Hm, what do you know, yes he was.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Quote:

Originally Posted by *Stargazer* Is this the same guy that was on Dr. Phil earlier this year? If it is, then yeah, that guy has no legal right to that child and IIRC even the Brazilian authorities agree.

If it's the same guy, will you explain how he has no legal rights if you remember?

I feel sad for stories like this. My mother worked with a woman who's son was abducted by the father and taken to Lebanon. When she finally got to see the son again, the son was trained to spit at the mother and hate her.

 

[blazeno.8]

Well from what I've read, in Brazil the mother is the legal decision maker for anything that has to do with the children. She knew this so she went through the Brazilian court system (the new husband is a lawyer) to rid herself of the American father. Even in all of the Brazilian court documents, they have proven that David is a fit father. She obtained sole custody in Brazil and claimed that the father abandoned them even though he tried to get in touch with the family. Now that she is dead, the stepfather has temporary custody even though he never applied to be a legal guardian when he married the mother. He had a Brazilian birth certificate issued for the child, who was born in New Jersey, and is now trying to erase the biological father's name from the birth certificate.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark If it's the same guy, will you explain how he has no legal rights if you remember? I feel sad for stories like this. My mother worked with a woman who's son was abducted by the father and taken to Lebanon. When she finally got to see the son again, the son was trained to spit at the mother and hate her.

Sorry, I should have been WAY more specific. The STEPfather who currently has the boy has no legal rights to him. The father should have his son given to him immediately.

The woman took the son on what the father thought was a vacation to visit her family in Brazil. He was supposed to join them after a couple of weeks. The day after she got there, she called him and told him she wasn't ever coming back and she wanted a divorce. Hit the guy (and everyone that knew them) completely out of the blue.

 

[Beauty Mark]

That makes more sense to me that the stepfather has no legal rights. I feel really sorry for both the kid and the father.

 

[Macnarsandlove]

I saw this the other day and its so sad that things like this are happening. I dont understand how the child who is an American citizen can just leave and be in Brasil for the last couple yrs. It makes me so mad that the crapy Brasilian govt will allow this to happen. I feel so bad for the dad I cried. You could see how much he loved his son in the movies.
And the dad was so ridiculously good looking and u can see the toll stress has put on him. He looks like he lost weight and aged 10 yrs. I hope he gets his son back someday.

 

[blazeno.8]

You know what the strange thing is... the more I think about this haunting story and try to figure out "why" the more I come back to the grandparents.

How could a lady who seemed so perfectly happy able to fool people for that long unless she was being pressured from someone else? If she didn't like suburban American life, I don't think she would have put up with it for four years. Especially seeing as she had the money to go somewhere else if she wanted to or call it quits whenever. It only happened when her parents came to visit the US. Even then, when it did end, she told David she thought he was a great father.

Notice that at first she maintained contact with David, but when she cut contact with him, she did not immediately stop responding to David's mother. Now the fact that she is dead and the child is still being held looks like it's an issue of the grandparents not wanting to let go.

I think that they felt that he was an unfit husband and so they convinced her that she was unhappy because they were unhappy. I think that they're the ones who really put limitations on the relationship between the two, and they're the ones who probably had the biggest interest vested in the affluent lawyer stepfather.

Now I still think that she acted very immaturely on her own part, but at the same time, I think she would have behaved quite differently if her parents had asked her to be a responsible spouse.

 

[blazeno.8]

Ugh, I hate to update so frequently, but someone from Facebook finally got a response from Lins e Silva. Here is his reasoning for not handing Sean over:
Portugese speaking girl from Facebook:
I sent the first email, he responded asking me to "identify myself better..." because he wanted to show me the "other side..." I responded to that... so he just replied!
"Na Convenção da Haia, todos que procuraram não encontraram os seus argumentos. Ao contrário ela é clara quando ocorre a fixação de domicílio por mais de 1 ano. E, 4,5 anos???
Me diga pois estou curioso em saber que lei é essa? A de Haia não é!
Pergunte ao seu amigo, quanto ele deu de suporte ao filho desde que ele nasceu até hoje?
Por que não visitou a criança durante 4,5 anos, tendo vindo aqui mais de 4 vezes. Nao venha com argumento que seguiu orientação de advogado, pois se este o mandasse pular pela janela ele o faria?"
Por que ele extorquiu dinheiro da família dela em 2007? E, não foi pouco!
Se paga algum valor pela metade da casa que ocupa que não lhe pertence?
Se trabalhava ou era a sua mulher que mantinha a casa?
Será que a Sra. Alessandra também sustenta marido e filhos?
Pai, não é quem gera, mas quem dá amor, procura, visita, cria, educa, dá afeto e EXEMPLOS.
Vc precisa conhecer melhor o seu amigo.
Me dá pena essa campanha sórdida onde se estoria inverdades.
Att.
Paulo"

Here is a very rough translation. Disclaimer: I speak no Portuguese whatsoever. Why did I attempt to translate it then? I speak Spanish fluently and even studied the history of the Spanish language and its closest neighbors on the Iberian peninsula (European Portuguese, Gallego, Asturian, Riojan, Andalucian, Catalan...). I was even at a point during my studies where I could understand most of the conversations that my Brazilian friend had with her family back home. At the same time, that is no replacement for a native speaker's translation. It says ROUGHLY (I mean very rough):
Anyone who looks in the Hauge Convention cannot find any of his arguments. To the contrary it is clear that residency can be established after more than one year. And 4, 5 years?
Tell me I am curious to know what is it you read? It's not Hague!
Ask your friend, how much he gave in child support to his son since he was born up to today?
Why didn't he visit his child during those 4,5 years, having come here more than 4 times. Don't come with the argument that he followed the advice of his lawers, well if they told him to jump out of a window would he do it?
Why did he extort money from her family in 2007? And it wasn't just a little!
Does he pay any money for even half of the house that he lives in that doesn't belong to him?
Did he work or was it his wife that maintained the house?
Could it be that Mrs. Alessandra also supported the husband and child?
Father, isn't the one who produces [the child], rather the one who gives love, looks for [the child], visits, cares, educates, gives affection and examples. You should get to know your friend better.
I pity this deaf campaign and its inaccurate stories.

I was wondering if a native Brazilian Portuguese speaker could translate this? Please?

 

[Beauty Mark]

Does the father stand to gain anything if he gets the kid back? That's what makes me dubious about the stepfather's alleged letter.

 

[*Stargazer*]

He got to see Sean yesterday, for the first time in 4 1/2 years. He sounded amazingly upbeat this morning and the authorities seem to think he's much closer to getting to bring Sean home to the US.

 

[blazeno.8]

Yeah, I read about that. What great news. You can hear in his voice that he is so sincere and was hurting so much. I don't see how those allegations even held true (in those bogus lawsuits). I am so thankful to the representative who went down with him. I am also glad to see more international support and the Today Show doing follow ups.