Parental Child Abduction Case #2 UPDATED

Update:

Jonathan Standeford and Molly Sharma successfully resolved the below matter regarding an internationally abducted minor child from the habitual residence of Mexico. In early January, Jonathan and Molly negotiated the return of the child to the father’s control and custody to secure a passport for the minor child and ultimately, for the child to return to Veracruz, Mexico.

Jonathan and Molly express their gratitude to the Mexico Embassy in Raliegh, North Carolina and the Central District of North Carolina Court for their expedited attention to this matter and immediate resolution consistent with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The primary focus of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is to determine jurisdiction, and when appropriate, return a minor child to the habitual residence for any necessary child custody determinations before the proper court.

Jonathan Standeford and Molshree (Molly) Sharma appeared pro hoc vice before the Middle District of North Carolina Federal Court in December 2024 and successfully obtained a preliminary injunction in our client’s favor in a proceeding involving a minor child who was wrongfully abducted from Veracruz, Mexico to North Carolina by her mother. This proceeding is for the return of the minor child to the habitual residence of Veracruz, Mexico under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act.

Our client, the left-behind father, resides in Veracruz, Mexico and was married to the mother of their four-year old child. All parties are citizens of Mexico, with our client being a dual citizen of the United States. The parties, along with the child, resided in Mexico for the entirety of their marriage until June 2023, when the mother under false pretenses abducted the minor child from their home. Following months of efforts to locate the child and the mother, the minor child was located being wrongfully retained in the jurisdiction of the Middle District of North Carolina.

Jonathan and Molly successfully petitioned and secured a preliminary injunction against the mother who had wrongfully abducted the minor child to prevent her from removing the child from the jurisdiction. In order to secure the preliminary injunction, Jonathan and Molly were required to argue a likelihood of success on the merits of the case showing the minor child was wrongfully removed from the habitual residence, and that if the court did not restrain the mother, it was likely she would again abscond with the child beyond the

jurisdiction of the court and she then would conceal the child further impairing the father-child relationship.

Additionally, our client was awarded access to the minor child who he had only limited contact with for over a year as a result of the abduction.

Jonathan and Molly will proceed to trial in January 2025, seeking the return of the minor child to the care and custody of our client in Veracruz, Mexico. They have assisted in reuniting multiple left-behind parents with their children and continue to be a valuable factor in litigation not only in Illinois, but in this case in North Carolina.

Jonathan and Molly echo the quote made in the Abbot v. Abbot decision that “[s]ome child psychologists believe that the trauma children suffer from these abductions is one of the worst forms of child abuse.” Abbot v. Abbot, 542 F.3d 1081. Jonathan and Molly remain in contact with various families who have suffered as a result of international child abduction to provide as much effort and attention as possible to assist through such a difficult trauma.