The saga is over; David Goldman is to be reunited with his son Sean tomorrow morning. No more waiting, no more litigation at long last, a father and son reunion will occur.
If you aren't familiar with David and Sean Goldman's story the details are below:
David's wife took Sean for a two-week visit with her family in Brazil. She never returned with the child.
They divorced in 2004 and since then, David Goldman has been attempting to gain legal custody of Sean who was kidnapped by the mother.
The mother remarried and died in childbirth in 2008. Sean's stepfather took "custody." David Goldman has spent years fighting what appeared to be a never-ending legal battle for the return of his son from the stepfather.
The stepfather is a well-known family law attorney in Brazil. The maternal grandparents have family law attorneys in their family also. Every ruling handed down by a court in Brazil was met with an appeal by the stepfather or maternal grandparents.
It seemed there was no way for David to win. On December 16, the Supreme Court of Brazil handed down another order that Sean be returned to his father within 48 hours.
As is usual the maternal grandparents appealed that court decision. Leaving David, once again, sitting in Brazil and even more determined to fight for the return of his son.
Details are fuzzy, I'm not sure what legal move David and his attorneys used but they were able to get the case heard again by a Supreme Court Judge on December 21 and that judge over-ruled the appeal and ordered that Sean be "immediately" returned to his father.
The maternal grandparents have released a statement via their attorney that they will file no more appeals. They are giving up their battle to keep Sean away from his father.
They have a name for parents like David Goldman. They are called "Left Behind Parents." Parents whose spouses have abducted children and taken them to foreign countries.
Hopefully by this time tomorrow...Christmas Eve, David Goldman will no longer be a "Left Behind Parent." For more information about David and Sean check out their website at BringSeanHome.org. You will also find stories of other "Left Behind Parents" there.
And, you can join in the celebration! This one Dad will no longer have to live life without his child.
David Goldman finally got his son back after an epic battle lasting over 5 years. The operative international law that governs such cases was abused until serious political pressure was brought to bear. Among the “fuzzy” details is the reality that the government of Brazil was not motivated to follow the law without the intervention of the US government, in particular the efforts of Congressman Chris Smith and Sen. Frank Lautenberg. All American citizens should be concerned that there are currently about 2800 abducted American children whose left behind parents are struggling without the help that David and Sean received. Go to http://www.bringseanhome.org to find out how you can help.