Interesting Article re: Parental Kidnapping

[CJane]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MO in this specific case, but applicable elsewhere.

Link to article: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/02/08/4054439/a-family-torn-asunder.html#storylink=cpy

Quote from article:

Two weeks ago, a Clay County Circuit Court judge dismissed the felony kidnapping charges against James, ruling that James had, at least in his own mind, just cause to remove the children from their home in Liberty.

Does the above imply that if he HADN'T had 'just cause' to remove the children from the home - even though he IS their father - the charges would stand?

 

[LdiJ]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MO in this specific case, but applicable elsewhere.

Link to article: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/02/08/4054439/a-family-torn-asunder.html#storylink=cpy

Quote from article:


Does the above imply that if he HADN'T had 'just cause' to remove the children from the home - even though he IS their father - the charges would stand?

I don't think that he ever should have been charged in the first place. He is the children's legal father with equal legal rights and what he did was not kidnapping. However, maybe the judge had to couch it that way for political purposes. However it does seem to imply that if he hadn't felt he had "just cause" that the charges might have stood, and that is seriously disturbing.

 

[CJane]

I don't think that he ever should have been charged in the first place. He is the children's legal father with equal legal rights and what he did was not kidnapping. However, maybe the judge had to couch it that way for political purposes. However it does seem to imply that if he hadn't felt he had "just cause" that the charges might have stood, and that is seriously disturbing.

And yet... he was hunted down in another state, based only on Mom's assertion that he was hiding the children from her, and the children were placed in her custody after the charges were filed. His visits are now supervised because Mom fears he'll 'snatch' them again.

 

[quincy]

The kids were returned to the mom. Egads. Based on the content of the article, that is really disturbing.

I have only read the article you linked to, CJane, and it may be important to note that the article quote you cited in your post is not a direct quote of the judge. It is entirely possible that the judge did not say or imply that the dad believing there was "just cause" to remove the children was the only reason why the felony kidnapping charges were dismissed. The implication may only be a result of poor wording by the author of the article and poor editing.

That said, I cannot believe that any parent could be convicted of felony kidnapping for removing their own children from a dangerous (or perceived-to-be dangerous) environment, especially when there has been no divorce with court-ordered parental restrictions of any kind, and when no divorce action had at that time been initiated by either parent.

The only sane actions I found detailed in the article were the actions of the dad in removing his children from their Liberty home, and the actions of the Clay County judge in dismissing the kidnapping charges against the dad.

 

[CJane]

That said, I cannot believe that any parent could be convicted of felony kidnapping for removing their own children from a dangerous (or perceived-to-be dangerous) environment, especially when there has been no divorce with court-ordered parental restrictions of any kind, and when no divorce action had at that time been initiated by either parent.

The only sane actions I found detailed in the article were the actions of the dad in removing his children from their Liberty home, and the actions of the Clay County judge in dismissing the kidnapping charges against the dad.

Oviously, I don't know if Dad would have been convicted. But, just the fact that he was located, the children taken into state custody and then turned over to Mom, charges filed against Dad, etc...

'We' often tell parents that by virtue of the fact that they're married, they can leave to go wherever for whatever reason, and it's not kidnapping and they need not worry. For all we know, we advised THIS DAD the exact same thing, yanno? And while I sincerely hope this is an outlier, it's certainly made me rethink the 'you're married, you can't kidnap your own kid' thing.

 

[basylica]

ugh, this upsets me because my ex filed and attached to the petition was a list of rules saying things like "don't remove kids from home or school" "don't hide kids" "don't remove items or money from joint acct"

I was served on a friday and turned out ex had grabbed the kids from daycare and told the director they wouldn't return for atleast 2 weeks, drained the acct 2 days after I was paid (I made more than he did), ransacked the house and took ALL the kids clothing/beds/meds and then went ahead and had power and electric turned off for spite I assume.

The court didn't even tell him "thats a no-no"
Meanwhile I flew to chicago to be with family over the weekend and upon my return monday (I couldn't get a lawyer to meet with me until tues) night I drove to walmart at 1am because I just couldn't sleep. I was TERRIFIED he'd hurt me. Unbeknownst to me he had been coming back over the weekend to take still more things from the home.
His lawyer harped on the fact i'd changed the locks for several minutes in court.

At that point IMHO he'd taken every last dime I had to my name, taken nearly everything he could cart out of the house, along with my kids and hidden them. He'd broken 11 of the 12 rules or something and I was 100% afraid for my safety and had nowhere else to go, other than to go live in my car (which he also had a key to)

It really irritates me how it was handled as "no biggie" while this guy nearly got the book thrown at him over a very similar thing.

(and yes, I know...changing locks was wrong. I figured my little wrong was worth committing over possibly being stabbed to death. I was really very afraid)

 

[Ohiogal]

Jennifer filed for a dissolution on March 20, 2012.James Lea Todd responded and filed a proposed parenting plan. Jennifer was born in 1981 and James was born in 1973. James also filed a motion for a protective order in Clay County on November 5, 2012. I am still looking for the criminal case that was supposedly in Clay County and I have not found it yet.

 

[Ohiogal]

I am not finding anything on casenet regarding him being charged with kidnapping. It should be there if a case was opened. The divorce case is there. Here is my guess based on the docket -- it was not criminal charges. The affidavit Jennifer filed in the divorce stated he kidnapped the children -- she asked for a restraining order on March 20, 2012. The judge granted an order on March 21, 2012. All hearings at this point are showing as cancelled. But again, I am not finding any criminal kidnapping charges. I am finding service by Sheriff. Susan Long was appointed as GAL in April.

 

[CJane]

I am not finding anything on casenet regarding him being charged with kidnapping. It should be there if a case was opened. The divorce case is there. Here is my guess based on the docket -- it was not criminal charges. The affidavit Jennifer filed in the divorce stated he kidnapped the children -- she asked for a restraining order on March 20, 2012. The judge granted an order on March 21, 2012. All hearings at this point are showing as cancelled. But again, I am not finding any criminal kidnapping charges. I am finding service by Sheriff. Susan Long was appointed as GAL in April.

Not all cases appear on casenet. There is, in fact, no real rhyme or reason for when/where cases appear on there, and if they're dismissed, they're often removed.

 

[quincy]

A hearing on the four counts of parental kidnapping was before Judge Shane Alexander in the Clay County Courthouse on October 11, 2012. James Todd's lawyer was Matt O'Connor. The kidnapping charges were dismissed.

Apparently Todd took his four children in January of 2012 when he decided his family's connection with the Fellowship of the Martyrs was harmful to his children. He kept his kids in Minnesota for 50 days before he was arrested, and he was charged with kidnapping his children on October 1, 2012. In the time between his arrest and the hearing in October, his wife filed for a protection order and divorce.

I could not locate the judge's decision.

 

[Ohiogal]

A hearing on the four counts of parental kidnapping was before Judge Shane Alexander in the Clay County Courthouse on October 11, 2012. James Todd's lawyer was Matt O'Connor. The kidnapping charges were dismissed.

Apparently Todd took his four children in January of 2012 when he decided his family's connection with the Fellowship of the Martyrs was harmful to his children. He kept his kids in Minnesota for 50 days before he was arrested, and he was charged with kidnapping his children on October 1, 2012. In the time between his arrest and the hearing in October, his wife filed for a protection order and divorce.

I could not locate the judge's decision.

Matt O'Connor is his attorney in the domestic case. Gotta wonder if there was a hearing in that case on October 11. I have found other cases that were dismissed (for different James Todds) -- no I am not trying to argue. I am just trying to make sense of it. He does have four children (James Todd that is).

 

[CJane]

Matt O'Connor is his attorney in the domestic case. Gotta wonder if there was a hearing in that case on October 11. I have found other cases that were dismissed (for different James Todds) -- no I am not trying to argue. I am just trying to make sense of it. He does have four children (James Todd that is).

If you scroll down to the comments after the article, the wife/stbx/Mother of the children is commenting.

 

[Ohiogal]

If you scroll down to the comments after the article, the wife/stbx/Mother of the children is commenting.

Lovely. This case doesn't make sense to me for it to have been a criminal case. Unless he actually had hid the children from her. THEN I could see it be parental kidnapping.

 

[quincy]

It is always possible that one parent (ie, the mom) could have lied to the police about the facts surrounding the removal of the kids to Minnesota, which could have resulted in the kidnapping charges - with the lies being discovered by the judge, who then dismissed the charges.

Not that I think that anyone in a Family Law type situation would ever lie.

 

[single317dad]

We (and when I say we, I'm including myself very loosely as I'm not nearly as prolific as other members) tell posters that they have certain rights, that the police can't get involved in civil disputes over children, and other similar truisms. Legally, those things are true, and are the correct legal answer to the posters' questions. However, I can tell you from personal experience that SOME police will come to your house, use threat of force to enter, and inject themselves directly into a civil custody dispute. Apparently, James Todd can concur with my anecdotal evidence.

Friday, March 9, the Port Lavaca (Texas, Calhoun County) newspaper reported James Lea Todd arrested on a warrant for four counts of parental kidnapping.

http://portlavacawave.com/news/article_1c8cb3de-6d1a-11e1-99f4-001871e3ce6c.html