Bruna Bianchi Carneiro Ribeiro and David George Goldman got married and settled in Tinton falls, NJ. They had a child, Sean Richard Goldman, born in 2000. They had a very happy life.
On June 16, 2004, David drove Bruna, her parents and Sean to Newark airport. She was taking Sean to a 2-week vacation in Rio de Janeiro. Once she arrived in Brazil, she called David to tell him their love story was over and if he ever wanted to see Sean again, he'd have to come to Rio and, among many demands, sign off his paternal rights to Sean. It was a huge blow to David, who tried to reason with his wife, to no avail. David then started pursuing the matter legally, based on the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which both Brazil and USA are signatory. The Convention says a child must be returned within a 6-week period to the place of habitual residence (NJ) which is the appropriate forum to make a decision on this case. Well, 5 years later, Sean is still in Brazil.
When in Brazil, Bruna got custody of Sean immediately in family court, claiming it was a consensual separation and David authorized Sean's permanence in Brazil (using a travel authorization given by David, something that every child traveling without one parents is required to have). She also got a unilateral divorce from David and married family law attorney Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, from the prominent Lins e Silva family of attorneys. The law office where he works, ironically, is specialized on Hague cases. His father is a scholar on International Child abduction and Parental Alienation.
David was denied the right to see his son, as well as communication via email or telephone. The gifts he mailed were returned, unopened. The judicial battle taking years, mostly due to the slowness of the judiciary.
Last year, in August, Bruna died from complications after giving birth to a daughter by her second husband, Chiara. David thought the case was over, when he found out Bruna's new husband has filed to get custody of Sean and had it granted on the same day (even though the judiciary is really slow, isn't it weird?). David's case got the media attention, being shown on Today Show and Dateline, but the Brazilian family had an injunction in Brazil, saying nothing about the case could be published because the case ran in secrecy of justice. It wasn't until the New York Times published an article about this case in February of this year that the Brazilian newspapers picked it up. The maternal family fired back, with material based on hearsay and making up lies, publicly slandering David, including a letter Bruna's new husband sent, commenting on the couple's alleged intimate life. The family's connections in high society and politics, and a massive PR job changed the coverage of this matter to "poor rich kid who lives with loving relatives is afraid of being taken to the US by a mean American who never pursued his son". Liars!
They also say Sean should not be separated from his baby sister since they are blood relatives... what about his father???? They say it's inhumane to take Sean from his posh life in Brazil... what about taking him from his father 5 years ago???
David's battle gathered many allies, such as SOS Hillary Clinton, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, among others. When President Obama asked president Lula about this case, Lula simply said it was in Federal Court and that Brazil has an independent Judiciary.
In February, David saw his son for the first time in years and saw their bond had not been broken.
Finally, on June 1st, 2009, Federal Judge Rafael Pereira Pinto, on a brilliant 82-page sentence, ruled that Sean was to return to the US. The family had 48 hours to present the boy to the American Consulate in Rio de Janeiro. The judge's decision says, among other things, that Sean has been brainwashed by the family into believing his father never tried to get him back, and also Sean said that it didn't matter whether he stayed in Brazil or returned to the US, that the judge would decide. But would only start repeating he wanted to stay after a psychologist sent by the stepfather questioned his response. David flew immediately to get his son.
But 17 hours before the deadline, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the order, when prompted by a political party whose leader is friends of the family (wait a minute, isn't the judiciary independent?) and is questioning the "constitutionality of the Hague convention".
On Wednesday, June 10, the Supreme Court will decide this matter, and we don't know what their decision will be. Let's pray that justice will be done and Sean will be sent home.
I have attended the DC Rally in March, as well as written my congressmen and senators in Brazil and USA. Can you help???
Please visit BringSeanHome for more info and documents.
4 comments:
This is a story of power, corruption, selfishness and greed. The needs of a 9 year old boy and his natural father are being ignored by a family that is holding him hostage in Brazil. What are their reasons?
Fortune? If they keep Sean they control his inheritance. Seans father has already told them to keep it. However, I'm sure they don't believe him. As selfish and sick as they are they would never denounce money for the sake of a child. Therefore, when Seans father says he doesn't care, they don't believe him because they are incapable of that kind of sincere love of a child. The Brazilian judiciary contributes to this abduction by refusing to order Seans return. Except for the Honourable Judge Pinto!! HURRAY for him!! Then comes the DEM party! It's SICK!!
Power? This family has shown that they have power and they use it completely to their selfish advantage to keep Sean away from his father. The DEM party calling out that the Hague Convention is unconstitutional?? Yet another tactic to subvert justice.
The hypocricy of the Lens e Silva family is ASTONISHING!! While they are practitioners of law and specialize in Hague Abduction cases and parental alienation syndrome, they are practicing all of these things on an innocent 9 year old boy.
We are all hoping that Wednesdays decision will bring common sense and decency from the Brazilian Supreme court and that at LONG LAST Sean will be returned to his loving father. That he will be allowed to grow up with his ONLY father. This is his inaliable RIGHT as a human being! Brazil needs to do the right thing!!! Will they??
Wendy, that's an awesome comment and I'd like to reproduce it as a post, if you don't mind
I don't know how the people of Brazil can find out the trute story when the papers and TV are owned by the same crowd of people who dominate everything in Brazil. David filed for his son to be returned immediately after Sean was kidnapped. If you sent your husband to the store with your little one and while he was gone he called you and said he's not coming back,, would that be kidnapping since actually you gave him permission to go to the store with the child.
This is the rational they would have you believe that just because David authorized a VISIT to Brazil, Bruna's failure to return Sean home is not a kidnapping?????
What Court Judge in any Country would believe that story.
David filed THEN, right THEN and hasn't stopped fighting to see Sean, to talk to Sean and to bring Sean home. How can they say he's only after the money.
There was NO money all the years he fought. All the years he was denied visitation, not only by Bruna, but by the court,and for NO reason.
A little boy has been made to believe that his father didn't want him. He was told over and over that he was abandoned.
How sich is an enviornment like that How sick are the people that would continue to disparage a father that has used everything in his power to get his son back, but has been thwarted by rich, elite, people who have no real feeings at all of any kind. Watch them on the video's. Watch them on the T.V shows. They have NO emotion except andger and hatred.
this case is so disgusting, this little boy need to return to his biological dad immediately!!!!
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