CBS Exclusive: Sean Goldman's Brazilian Family Tells Their Side

By: Neil Katz
Topics: Daily Blotter

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) It's a dramatic international custody battle that's reached the highest levels of the Brazilian legal system and U.S. diplomatic circles. An American father has fought for five years to be reunited with his son, but the boy's Brazilian family says the boy is theirs.

This morning Sean Goldman's Brazilian family sat down with CBS' The Early Show for an exclusive interview to explain why they feel the boy should stay with them in Brazil, even though his biological father is fighting for his return to the U.S.

How did we get here?
It began as a love affair. David Goldman was an American model working in Milan when he met Bruna, a beautiful Brazilian-born fashion design student. They fell in love, got married, moved to New Jersey and had a son named Sean. But everything changed in 2004 when Bruna took their 4-year-old son to Brazil for what Goldman says was a family vacation. Bruna and Sean never returned.

She divorced Goldman, remarried, and died tragically in 2008 while giving birth to her second child. But after her death, her second husband, Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, refused to return Sean to his birth father. Silva, a successful attorney, claims the nine-year-old boy is now his own.

Goldman thought his five-year custody battle was coming to an end in June, when he won a ruling in a federal court in Brazil. But a Brazilian Supreme Court justice suspended that decision after receiving a petition from a Brazilian political party.

(Family Photo)

Undated photo of David Goldman with son, Sean.

"Sean wants to stay in Brazil."

This morning, when the Brazilian family at the center of the international custody battle appeared on The Early Show for an exclusive interview, they had a lot to say.

"I love Sean as a real son," Silva told Early Show anchor Harry Smith in slightly broken English. "Sean has spent 60 percent of life in Brazil. This is a place he feels safe, protected, loved."

Silva, and Sean's maternal grandmother Silvana Biachi, reiterated their claim that Sean wants to stay in Brazil with them.

"Sean wants to stay in Brazil with his family," Biachi said, also in broken English. She added that Sean's biological father "has the right to visit the baby of course... how many times he wants he can go to Brazil to visit his son, no problems."

But the family is adamant that they will continue to fight to prevent David Goldman from taking his son back to America.

Both Brazil and the U.S. are signatories to an international treaty that addresses how to handle cases of children taken across international borders without parental consent. The U.S. State Department has repeatedly cited Brazil for violating the treaty. In March, President Barack Obama asked that Sean be returned to his birth father. But the case looks like it will continue to be tied up in the Brazilian courts for some time.

PREVIOUSLY ON CRIMESIDER
June 3, 2009 - Not So Fast: Brazilian Court Keeps American Dad From Son
June 2, 2009 - Father Battles For Son And Wins

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by pinkxbutterfly May 18, 2011 2:41 AM EDT: Disgusting! David has recordings of Bruna saying that he was the best father, etc. Then suddenly when she leaves to Brazil she goes ballistic screaming at him on the phone. Then strange death threats. Bruna's parents are shady people. Coincidentally after she gets a divorce from David, she marries this shady lawyer guy that specializes in child abduction cases. How convenient. I think Bruna's parents controlled her life, after she left the U.S. until the day she died. I have a very strong suspicion they coerced/manipulated Bruna to stay in Brazil. Seeing how manipulative they've been in the court system and wanting everything their way under their terms, I wouldn't put this allegation past them.; Reply to this comment


by browncross January 9, 2010 12:49 PM EST: This is an all American story. Meaning that this is all about MONEY. Or pursuit of happyne$$. David Goldman was an unemployed model supported by a Brazilian hard working woman, who dumped him and runaway back home, which was not good for him who had to ask allowance from his dad. He eventually got a job and came the economic crisis. Meanwhile his son's mother had passed way and the kid was living with a wealthy family.

Everything Mr. Goldman want is MONEY and he got with the patriotesque support of American politicians, people and far from uninterested help of a TV network. Brazilian government had also its own quota of misdemeanor when simply sold out the kid to the US interests. The kid had to spent his holidays with a complete stranger, without the Xtian celebrations he lived with for almost all his childhood. Next step, the bill. Mr.Goldman is now charging U$ 500,000 from Sean's Brazilian relatives as a visiting tax, when actually NBC paid all his expenses.; Reply to this comment


by Carolb701 December 27, 2009 1:38 PM EST: The grandparents and lawyer son in law digust me! They helped their daughter to kidnap her son. The only people who have any rights are David Goldman (HIS FATHER) and Sean. How dare they keep them apart. All three of them should be in jail for a very long time. They are nothing but scum for keeping this father and son apart. There is no excuse for what they did. They are horrible, nasty people. Just remember, what goes round comes round. You will get yours one day. Your grandson and step child is going to realize just what you did and will hate you for it in the future. There is no excuse for people like you.; Reply to this comment

by LSCAMPOS December 25, 2009 7:17 PM EST

Unfortunately, our Justice System is made for the adults and not for children. The Brazilian Supreme Court refused to allow the little boy to speak and express his wish to stay in Brazil with the father (stepfather) he has known for the past 5 years, his little sister, and his grandparents, all of whom he adored. Sean Goldman, a 9 years old, who speaks Portuguese and very little English, raised as a Christian, was not even allowed to celebrate Christmas with his Brazilian family. Children have vague memories of their first 4 years after birth but remember well what happens in their lives later on. I am sure the boy must be going through a lot of trauma having lost his mom not long ago and now being removed from his family. The American media attacked the Brazilian Justice System, without understanding that the Judges in Brazil had previously decided the issue after various psychologists stated that it would be in the best interest of the child to remain with his Brazilian Family. The Hague Convention states that a kidnapped child should be return immediately to his prior residence EXCEPT when it is not in the best interest of the child. I guess we have a case in point. It is very sad how the American Media and Politics influenced this case to the point of second guessing various judges in Brazil and putting pressure on the Brazilian Government to have the case again heard by another judge. I agree that the father has rights to the child and that the child should have been returned to Brazil immediately when his was 4 years old, but at this point in time, I sincerely believe it would be in the best interest of the child to remain in Brazil, or at least, allow for a reasonable period of transition. I am a dual citizen, American and Brazilian, and my deceased father was in family court for many years. The issue of child custody was always very daring to my father because he himself was separate from his family at a young age and adopted by close relatives. He used to say that in spite of people's best efforts, the Justice System is made for adults and not for children. I guess he was right. The Justice System enforced the rights of the father but treated the child as "property." Sincerely, Luis Sousa Campos

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by mexico638 December 27, 2009 5:07 PM EST: Regarding your first point, "the little boy" can not speak and should not because even the Brazilian courts have indicated that his Brazilian family have aliented his real father. As a result, the courts would not listen to a child that has been influenced to say he wants to stay in Brazil.

Your second point, I seriously doubt that Sean does not speak English. If he attended a private school and he his family has the wealth it is reported, of course this school taught him both languages. His mother spoke English. Where do you think she learned English. She learned it in Brazil at a private school.

The initial verdict, if you do your homework, was based on lies from Bruna. You see she led the Brazil courts to believe that Sean was already settled in Brazil, attending school, and that his father did not want him. With that information, the courts granted her custody. Sean would not be in a position to not remember his father had it not been for Bruna. You seem intelligent, why leave this part of the equation out?

Your EXCEPT comment. Yes, the Hague Convention says this. It is not in the best interest of the child is the parent seeking custody can not provide for him, has been abusive, etc. This is not the story. The story is Bruna left the US with Sean under the premise that she was going on vacation. Once again, you see what you want to see.

Read the facts and perhaps at that point re-post.


by d200shooter December 28, 2009 3:14 PM EST: so in your way of thinking...if someone kidnaps a child...as long as they hold them until they get comfortable and until such time as it would cause an emotional issue for the child to be returned to his/her home or parents...that's OK???

bruna took the child to brazil illegally...and he was held illegally until now. he had only been there two years when she died and he should have been returned to his biological father immediately...no harm no foul. the biological father never did anything wrong other than marry a crazy person!! now...almost three more years have past and any additional emotional issues are the fault of the brazilian family...period!! i have an 8 and 10 year old and i can tell you that the american father has much more patience than i. the father has missed the best childhood years with his son. the years when they bond and really get to know each other...and he'll have a hard time getting that back. at least he will get the chance. you obviously don't understand what it would be like to have your 4 year-old child taken from you...you would never give up fighting to get him back...no matter the circumstance. and now the father will have to contend with other issues...like the fact that sean has been living with privileged people in privileged circles...probably spoiled to some degree and may never be happy with a "normal" existence, home, family, friends, etc. he has almost surely been told lies about his father and lies with respect to his father not wanting to see him or not fighting for him. i commend the father for his patience and tenacity. he did this the right way and didn't stoop to kidnapping sean back or similar which would have put him at the level of the original kidnappers...VERY LOW.

and the american media acted exactly as it should have...an american child was held in brazil against his biological father's wishes. if not for the media this may have never been exposed and the father and son may not have had the chance to be together. had this turned out differently sean would have eventually seen the truth and the reports and the attempts by his father to get him back and he would have hated his brazilian step-not-father and grandparents. sean and his father deserve the chance to be together and sean deserves to be with a father who has always loved him and fought with everything he had to get him back. so...by the way...i guess you would have just said "hey, no big deal, he likes you guys now...keep him"??


by damato315 December 24, 2009 3:59 PM EST: what is this about Bruna being abused? Never have I heard one such word of that & I have been following this frustrating heart-breaking story for quite awhile. While I dont want to disparage the dead, the SELFISHNESS of Bruna & her family are a large part of the problem here. If she had been willing to allow visitation with HIS FATHER, the situation wouldnt be a dramatic/traumatic as it is now. That grandmother..what gall..Im sure she loves him but he also has a grandmother here who Sean was taken away from. Im just glad they are on the way home. Too angry to go on civily!; Reply to this comment

by redbepa December 23, 2009 10:37 PM EST

Sean speaks Portuguese and probably very little English.
He has been raised in a Christian family and is now going to go to a Jewish home.
His Brazilian father is a lawyer and Sean goes to private school.
His American father is a real estate agent and Sean will go to a public school in New Jersey.

This is going to be a very difficult transition for this child of 9...a change of language, a change of family , a change of religion, a change in social status...a change of country.

Very few children have such upheavals in their lives.

I wonder if David Goldman has really considered the interests of the child. He was not able to save his marriage even after counseling and he is willing to take the child right before Christmas. If that child wants to return to Brazil he is going to be a handful.

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by 4avocats December 24, 2009 7:37 PM EST: Nonsense. Sean's school in Brazil taught English as well as Portugese.
OH NO! A JEWISH HOME!!
He has no Brazilian "father." He has a guy who was responsibloe for keeping his real father from raising him. So what he's a lawyer--that's a good thing? When you use your political power to steal someone else's child? How do you know what school he'll go to?
Children have upheavals all the time. I wonder if the Brazilian kidnappers considered the "best interests of the child"? He should learn that doing something wrong long enough lets you win the prize? If they had followed the law and the courts honestly, he would have been home a long time ago; the Brazilians set it up for Christmas week. They've had him for, what, six Xmases?? And what do you know about his marriage?


by d200shooter December 28, 2009 3:24 PM EST: you've got to be kidding right? did they think of the upheaval of taking a 4 year old child from his loving father in a new jersey home, speaking almost all english, and immersing him in all those things you mention above? hmmm...change of language, family, religion, social status, country!!! but its all good as long as he's in brazil?? that makes so much sense...


by Earthie48 December 23, 2009 1:25 PM EST: Normally, I am NOT a violent person, but issues like this bring out the VIOLENCE in me!

It's time for the CIA, NSA to come to David Goldman's aid! I swear, I would burn up hell and earth to get my child back, and NO WAY would I be as cool and calm as David is being; but I know he is controlling his anger to ensure, they don't use it against him! Well he has PLENTY of us to show his anger!

I am just so OUT DONE with what his grandmother is doing against her grandson's father! I can't get over it, and it raises my blood pressure whereby, I want to release my anger on them, to LOWER my blood pressure!

It's time for us to organize a "MISSION IMPOSSIBLE TEAM" AND GO to Brazil, and get his son back!

Money, kiss my last azz, you can shove it up your last hole! It's time DRASTIC MEASURES ARE TAKEN TO GET SEAN BACK TO HIS FATHER, and these bastards put in jail, made to pay restitution for what David had to spend out getting his son back!

Let's get a MISSION IMPOSSIBLE TEAM TOGETHER and get Sean back to his father!; Reply to this comment


by kkelley2358 December 23, 2009 5:19 AM EST: It sounds to me like the two met, fell in love, married and moved to New Jersey where the little missus was homesick so mommy and daddy came to visit and take her back to make her feel better not realizing that Sean was only technically half hers. These folks need to imagine what it would feel like if the shoe were on the other foot. Of course this kid is going to say he wants to stay in Brazil, they have denied him any contact with his biological father until this year and then their time together was supervised. Who knows what these people have told this boy? If he hadn't seen his father earlier this year they could have told him his dad had three heads and he wouldn'thave any way to know any different. the whole situation is deplorable and I don't even blame the boy's late mother as much as I do the grandmother. What the mother did was wrong, what the grandmother condoned was straight up evil! I don't believe a word that came out of the gtrandmother's mouth during this interview. How stupid or gullible or both do you have to be to believe this man would drive his wife and son and the maternal grandparents to the airport to go to Brazil for "a visit" if he had any inkling that there was trouble in the marriage and he wouldn't see his son again for 5 years? I smell a rat and in this case it is Brazilian.; Reply to this comment


by 1-4justice December 21, 2009 8:49 PM EST: Sean will be so surprised when he finally sees all the efforts his father and others have made for his rightful return home. Brazil seems very corrupt, the stepfather is responsible for all Sean's and David's pain and suffering, and no amount of money paid to their government officials(?) will break the father/son tie that they have. I only hope Sean has not been permanently damaged by all of this and grows up to be the fine man that his birth father is. How David has been, through all the processes of trying to work within a system that is so corrupt, has been extra-ordinary, above and beyond what any other individual would/could have put up with.
They will not defeat David and he will have his son back.
BTW - I wonder if the Navy Seals would be interested in helping out? Why put up with all this when you REALLY don't have to??? Good luck to David and Sean...and Brazil/linsesilva "What goes around...comes around"! (Lousy interview by CBS! Should be removed from the internet as it's embarrassing to watch!); Reply to this comment


by AvgMom2 December 21, 2009 4:00 PM EST: No one in his right mind would spend 5 years and loads of money chasing his own child in a foreign country unless he loves him and wants him back. If my child were in the same situation, I'd do EXACTLY what David Goldman is doing. I?d move Heaven and Earth to find my child! It?s a parental instinct.

Why is this maternal grandmother so possessive of Sean? After all, she now has a granddaughter to love. And why does this 2nd husband of her daughter want to keep another man?s child? He said he loves Sean like his own child. I beg your pardon? Sean HAS a father! This man should concentrate loving his own infant daughter! This whole thing doesn't make any sense. Sean's Brazilian family should release him to his father's care and if Sean wants to visit Brazil when he grows up, then that's his business. His Brazilian grandmother should not put words in his month ? that Sean would rather live in Brazil than living with his dad in US. Let the child speak ? in NJ! I found it very strange that this grandmother and her 2nd son-in-law were in the US and no one knew about it. This news must've been kept very hush-hush.; Reply to this comment