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Kidnapped girls found but not returned home
By Stephanie Flemmons, Staff Writer
Parental alienation is a growing form of child abuse occurring in the world that is rarely addressed.
It affects a child’s mental and emotional well-being and creates a world of hatred toward a parent, typically in a high-conflict divorce situation. It deprives children of being loved by both parents, according to Sarvy Emo, spokesperson for Parental Alienation Awareness Organization.
Courts around the world aren’t recognizing the issue. Children are influencing court decisions after being manipulated by one parent, then leaving the other parent feeling abandoned.
After a custody battle in March 2005 didn’t go the way his ex-wife, Tedra Erickson, intended, the story began.
Collin County Judge Curt Henderson ruled Peterson and Erickson were required to meet at the Plano police station to exchange the children.
In April, Peterson went to meet his girls, and they never showed.
After a year of no word where his children were, Peterson hired Private Investigator Phillip Cline.
In September 2006, Cline located his girls in Tralee, Ireland, a remote town of 2,500. They were living with Erickson and her mother Kay.
It finally became Peterson’s time to see his girls.
Peterson said a trial took place in Ireland under the rules of the Hague Child Abduction Convention. Those rules help prevent international child abduction and provide a secure legal framework for cross-border contact among children and their parents when families separate.
He said a psychologist interviewed Katie and Emma together for 45 minutes.
“Through testimony, both girls said there was nothing in the United States they ever liked,” Peterson said.
He had one afternoon alone with his children in the foreign town of Tralee.
“They were both acting defiant,” Peterson said. “My oldest, Katie, was very angry at me, saying that I was terrible and had done everything bad in the world.”
Peterson said he attempted to buy Emma an iPod, and she wouldn’t accept anything from him.
“It was terribly hard to hear,” Peterson said. “They told me they hate me and never wanted to see me again. Tedra told them lies and bad-mouthed me.”
Peterson was left with a difficult decision. He said he didn’t want to force the girls to be miserable so he sent them home.
Erickson was unavailable for comment.
His one afternoon alone with his girls was ruined.
“It breaks my heart,” Peterson said. “All I wanted to do was take them away with me.”
Peterson came back to Plano, where he awaited the judge’s decision to send his children back under the Hague Convention.
Peterson said the judge’s ruling was shocking. The judge said his children seemed settled in Ireland, so he wasn’t going to force them to leave.
“They don’t believe in parental alienation,” Peterson said. “They wouldn’t even let us bring it up in court. What Tedra has done is illegal.”
A Collin County grand jury indicted Erickson and her mother on Interference with Child Custody, a state-jail felony.
Now, Peterson’s only hope to see his girls is through extradition.
Cline said out of 16 years as a child rescue investigator, this is one of the most aggressive cases of parental alienation he has seen.
“I bring kids back from all over the world,” Cline said. “In this case, these children are going to need extreme psycho-therapy. I believe the children will come back to their father, but it won’t be kisses and roses. It will be a long, hard road for the entire family.”
Dr. Richard Warshack, author of “Divorce Poison Protecting the Parent-Child Relationship,” a best-selling book on parental alienation, said in most abduction cases children are easily convinced the other parent is a bad person to be around.
“It can happen very quickly, and it’s very distressing,” said Warshack, who is also a clinical professor at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. “Families need a psychologist to heal the damaged relationship.”
He said parents go to many lengths to undermine a child’s love and respect toward another parent. He said the “favorite” parent lies and exaggerates and speaks badly about the “rejected” parent.
“I’ve seen children grow up and be depressed as a result of parental alienation,” Warshack said. “They feel used by the parent they favored, but also angry with the parent they rejected because they think they didn’t try hard enough.”
In most cases the parent that was favored tells the children the other parent doesn’t want to see them anymore.
“I want my girls back,” Peterson said. “I’ve looked into intense therapy. It’s going to be hard on the kids and tough on me.”
Peterson said he is frustrated with the amount of time it is taking to have Erickson and her mother extradited and his children’s safe return home. He said he is unsure if Ireland will fight extradition.
“I know if I would have done the same thing, being a male, I would have been brought back a long time ago,” Peterson said.
Curtis Howard, Collin County assistant district attorney, said his side of the paperwork to complete the extradition process is complete and he is waiting on the Department of Justice and the State Department to do final approval. He said he is unsure what the status is in Ireland.
“It’s hard to tell when they will be extradited,” Howard said. “I’m hoping it will happen in the next couple of weeks.”
Cline said there have been some communication errors between Collin County and the federal government.
“This has been unusually long,” Cline said. “They are working very hard, but there has been a lot of confusion on statute.”
Jeff Rich, Plano Police detective who helped locate the children, said this case isn’t over.
“My goal is to make sure the children are safe,” Rich said. “We want the offenders brought to justice. We are working toward extradition, but at this point it is out of our hands.”
Peterson said he is surprised more charges have not been filed on Erickson. He said she forged documents in order to take the girls out of the country.
“Kidnapping is exactly what it is,” Peterson said. “The D.A. should indict her on everything under the sun.”
Rich said indictments are a matter of the elements of the offense.
“We fit the offense for the crime committed,” Rich said. “Interference with Child Custody is the crime that occurred.”
Howard said Erickson will be extradited on the single criminal charge. He said any federal crimes she committed are out of the state’s hands.
Cline said he has seen courts up charges when parents run away despite a court order.
“I would not be surprised if Howard ups the charges,” Cline said. “This is really egregious what this mother has done. She has poisoned the brains of her kids.”
Cline described parental alienation as an epidemic.
“It’s time to start sending a message,” Cline said. “You do it — you’ll go to jail.”
To comment on this story, visit www.scntx.com. Contact Stephanie Flemmons at
sflemmons@acnpapers.com
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
Bonnie Russell wrote on Nov 3, 2007 9:38 PM:
" Family courts are rarely covered in mainstream media, exactly why www.FamilyLawCourts.com went live. There's a section on Texas too.
What works is collecting enough reports on judges so voters respond, appropriately www.USAjudges.com
In fact, it was a Texas attorney who made the first report at the data-driven collection system site that allows attorneys and the public to restores transparency to government in a way no other organization has.
On a state-wide basis, the first thing state judges did was to vote to make their proceedings confidential.
http://www.ajs.org/ethics/pdfs/When%20confidentiality%20ceases.pdf
But not before the 5th District reminded citizens in their view, judges really are above the law:
"Mitchell vs. McBride 944F.2D 229 "A judge will not be deprived of immunity because the action he took was in error, was done maliciously, or was in excess of his authority; rather he will be subject to liability only when he has acted in the clear absence of all jurisdiction.' The rule of judicial immunity applies even where the judge is accused of acting maliciously or corruptly…Sariello vs. Campbell 860 F. Supp. 54"
But Americans can vote to change that.
"
glad08 wrote on Nov 5, 2007 10:03 AM:
" Is about time some light is shed on this subject. Everyday men, women, and children have their lives ruinned by a terrible other parent. The public things that it is some how not a crime or abuse. Is abuse and kidnapping period. Start giving them a vaction in prison and see if the problem slows down. "
Family Court System needs to be fixed wrote on Nov 6, 2007 9:37 AM:
" Another problem is that some judges are just intellectually lazy and that laziness is supported by the judicial system. A family court decision will rarely get overturned on appeal - family court judges know that so they don't have to make tough decisions, they can make easy decisions because they know that they won't get overturned. I have personally sat in Collin County family law proceedings and seen the judges work on the computer, talk to court personnel and a variety of other things EXCEPT listening to the testimony and evidence that is being presented! The Peterson case is astounding and if there is nothing more to this case than appears in this story, I'd personally work to have Henderson removed from the bench at the earliest opportunity! "
response to Bonnie Russel wrote on Nov 6, 2007 10:03 AM:
" It should not be implied that any Judge in Collin County took any action in error. The problems with this case appears to be international and should not reflect upon the Collin County Judiciary. The family court issued a valid order that the Mom apparently chose to violate. The criminal court has yet to receive the case. This is a serious problem and hopefully when extradition occurs, justice will be done. "
Tim Zikowsky wrote on Nov 7, 2007 5:14 PM:
" I have another form of " Parental Alienation" that has happened to me. And the signs are there. My daughter hates me and does not wish for me to be a part of her life. All because of her Mother. My daughter was not yet 2 years old when we divorced. And as soon as my daughter was able to comprehend, understand and talk, that's when her Mother started the Parental Alienation process. And the shameful thing is, she has 2 sons from a previous marriage she most likely has done this with their Father also. Read my Blog entry titled " Incomplete Heart, Soul, Maturity And Growth " at http://txzeke.spaces.live.com . If this is an epidemic in the making, it's been happening for maybe a lot longer than anybody wants to admit to. "
awareness2008 wrote on Nov 7, 2007 9:19 PM:
" I was at a Plano library a few days ago looking for books on parental alienation and asked a librarian for help. She didn't even know what "Parental Alienation" meant. When I explained it to her, she had an epiphany. She went on to tell me her story of how she is an adult victim of parental alienation. She told me how her mother poisoned her against her dad when she was a child. She didn't even know it was an epidemic but she told me that there are so many children, teenagers, and adults that are out there that don't even know there's a name to what their parents are doing to them. She has ordered me a book on Parental Alienation for my research and she wants to be the next person to read it. The real victims are the children and they grow up with real psychological problems they don't even know how to address. "
dad wrote on Nov 7, 2007 11:18 PM:
" I am Michael Peterson. Nothing the 219th was wrong. Yes it took time and money but the issues where heard. The money and time can be an issue but not the court. This like all cases is not black and white but after I quickly flipped thru 50 hearing over 12 years the facts some where out for all to see. What is black and white is the crimminal issue and child abuse. We all need to make a stand. No longer should be live in a country where this is not thought as on the same plane as kidnapping. God Bless. WWW.takeroot.org "
awareness2008 wrote on Nov 14, 2007 9:07 AM:
" When proper document has been brought to court, the judge rules based on the legal documents before him. When a convict has kidnapped two girls and removed them from their father's full custody to another country and it is substantiated by the State Department and Interpol and the Police. They all can't be wrong, no matter what old cases are quoted; The public is supposed to go by your quotes of rulings that have no association to this kidnapping? Be realistic. Parental Alienation is the focus of this article and it's prevalent everywhere-there are thousands and thousands of people and children who are experiencing it today. It needs to be addressed and made aware to the general public. Parental Alienation stems from deep anger towards the other parent and the children's well-being is/are never considered. Lies are spread to the children for personal gain of the parent doing the alienation. It alters that child forever and the relationship she/he had with the other parent. It is Child Abuse, see Dr. Warshak's website. He is a world-renowned Doctor who specializes in Parental Alienation and Hostile Parenting. http://www.warshak.com. Dear public, research Parental Alienation on your own. "
Collin County Dad wrote on Nov 16, 2007 9:29 AM:
" How did the mother end up with custody of the girls in the first place? Could her potential for this behavior not be identified through a social study or pattern before this took place? 11 years ago I stood in front of Judge Roach, another Collin County Judge, and watched him take a great deal of pride in making sure that a social study for my children was prevented from taking place. The mother in my case has a history of a violent temper. It took me 9 years to get my son back, due to abuse by the mother. Is there any way to speed up the process of review when a judge makes a bad call in a case? "
Michael Kelly wrote on Nov 16, 2007 9:48 AM:
" Mr. Peterson, I feel your pain everyday of my current life. I have 2 daughters that I have not sen in 3 years and have no idea where they are or the means to find them. I was sent to county jail for 10 months for violation of a protective order that never should have been granted due to pergerous testimony that aquired it and during that time she took the kids and dissappeared. My violation was making phone calls to see my children when I was suppossed to and for that I suffer every living day. I plan to do alot more research on this now that I have found it, I did 10 months she deserves no less then the time that I have been deprived of them. "
response to Bonnie Russell 11/3/07 wrote on Nov 16, 2007 9:53 AM:
" It's sounds like you may have had a bad experience with a county court house and I'm sorry for your situation. This is an International Kidnapping. And on a federal level. The criminal case was taken away from the local courts. If you think that the State Department and Irish courts don't review the local court's recent and past rullings on this sensitive cas, you are wrong. It is difficult to understand what the process is in an International Kidnapping. All the State Department wants is to have her extradicted so she can face her indictment. If you have sat in a courtroom, you will see the judges and attornies looking at their computers. They are looking at the case, not ignoring it. This is the computer age. Have you been privy to their computers. If you have done your homework over several years, you will see there is a bias against men. The article is about Parental Alienation and Hostile Parenting. Awareness of this epidemic is the focus of this article. The children are the ones that suffer. "
response to Russell wrote on Nov 16, 2007 10:04 AM:
" This is an International Kidnapping. And on a federal level. The criminal case was taken away from the local courts. If you think that the State Department and Irish courts don't review the local courts recent and past rulings on this sensitive case, you are wrong. International Kidnapping but is an international felony. The State Department wants the mother extradited to face her charges like everyone else who get indicted. In the courtroom, you will see the judges and attorneys looking at their computers. They are looking at the case, not ignoring it. The article is about Parental Alienation and Hostile Parenting and Awareness of this epidemic. The children are the ones that suffer "
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