U.S. Dad's Brazil Custody Battle Hits Snag

(CBS/AP)  Brazil's Supreme Court on Thursday delayed the return of a 9-year-old boy to his U.S. father only hours after the man arrived from New Jersey in hopes of taking the boy home for Christmas.

The court ruled the child must stay in Brazil while it considers a request that his own testimony be heard in the case, which has dragged on for five years.

The ruling written by Justice Marco Aurelio Mello means the boy will be in Brazil at least until Feb. 1, following the justices' return from a recess, according to a court spokesman who commented on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the case.

David Goldman's lawyer Ricardo Zamariola confirmed the ruling means he will be unable to pick up his son Sean at the American Consulate in Rio on Friday, as a federal appeals court had ruled on Wednesday.

"We're studying the decision and we'll decide what to do soon," said Zamariola.

It was not immediately possible to contact Goldman in Rio and Zamariola said he had yet to speak with his client.

"At stake is a fully formed life," Mello wrote in his ruling. "At stake is the right to come and go, the right of opinion, expression and human dignity."

Mello told reporters afterward that the coming ruling will "question the necessity of Sean, the boy, who is almost 10-years-old, to be heard directly by a judge."

Silvana Bianchi, Sean's maternal grandmother, told the privately run Agencia Estado news service she was elated with the decision. According to her, Sean, who has dual citizenship, has said he wants to remain in Brazil.

"His testimony has never been heard," she said. "As a Brazilian citizen, he deserves it. He is a child of nearly 10 and he knows quite well what he wants."

Shortly before the stay was announced, Goldman, dressed in black, stepped off a 12-hour flight from New York into a large scrum of reporters at Rio's international airport.

Facing the crowd of cameras and microphones, he looked blank, uttered a few quiet words and appeared every inch a man exhausted — from a flight, the custody fight and the chance that, one more time, a last-minute appeal will keep him from taking his boy back to New Jersey.

"I hope I can go home with my son," Goldman quietly told reporters.

President Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have all urged the child's return, and a U.S. congressman traveled to Rio on Thursday to continue lobbying for Sean's return.

In 2004, Goldman's wife, Bruna Bianchi, took Sean to her native Brazil.

Goldman says it was to be a two-week vacation, but she stayed and so did the boy. She eventually obtained a Brazilian divorce from Goldman and remarried.

Goldman was already seeking his son's return under an international treaty that covers cross-border child abductions when his former wife died last year giving birth to a daughter.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, who has been supportive of Goldman's fight and is in Brazil with Goldman, said he was deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court's ruling and called on Brazil to send the boy back to the U.S. based on international law.

"We have a reciprocity agreement when it comes to abducted children," he said. "We all have an international obligation to work to get children back to their habitual residence."

Sergio Tostes, attorney for Sean's stepfather Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, said the case should never have reached the political levels that it has.

"This is not a fight between two countries," Tostes said. "This is just the pursuit of the truth and the pursuit of what is in the best interest of the boy."

Before the Supreme Court ruling, Zamariola had warned that additional appeals could block the transfer of Goldman's son and forecast that a final resolution would not come until at least the first half of 2010.

Previous rulings favorable to Goldman have been scuttled by Brazilian courts. Zamariola said he was certain lawyers for Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, the Brazilian stepfather with whom Sean lives, would appeal Wednesday's federal court ruling to surrender the boy.

"It's a mixed bag for David right now," Patrick Braden, an international abduction expert whose daughter Melissa was taken to Japan three and a half years ago, told CBS' "The Early Show". "So he's probably a bit skeptical and excited at the same time. It's an emotional roller coaster."

Goldman and Sean were reunited in February for the first time since his son was taken to Brazil. They have not seen each other since June.

[JV1970]

by KGgbhrt December 24, 2009 9:34 AM EST
I would like to comment to this extremely insensitive post. Although you may have some valid points about mothers and their children it is cruel to discount the very real love and craving this man has for his only child. No sane person would put themselves through all the effort and heartache unless he had an overwhelming need for his child. Had the mother lived, Mr. Goldman would have had to make peace with the fact that she couldn't give up their child to be raised without her. But the facts are that she is deceased. The stepfather and maternal grandparents do have rights, but they should not supersede that of the natural father unless he has been shown to be incompetent in some way, which has NOT been shown. My heart goes out to Mr. Goldman. Although it will be tough re-establishing a relationship with an older child that hasn't known him for many years, I believe the father's fierce love for his child will get them through this difficult time. I wish them both peace and love as they forge a new bond this Christmas and in the future by KGgbhrt December 24, 2009 9:34 AM EST My comments may seem insensitive to you but I believe they are absolutely true! Also I too wish them peace and love in the future but I doubt that will be the case at least not for a while! That boy doesn't know his father. His father is a stanger to him. He is going to want to return to the family that he knows and loves. He is going to feel that his father kidnapped him and he's going to rebel. He's going to act out and fight and do everything he can to get back at or get revenge on his father. In fact it's possible that the whole arrangement might not work and he may never bond with his father. I think this father thinks the boy will be the same child that he was when he was four years old. I think this father is in for a rude awakening. This kid is going to fight him and cause him as much trouble as he can. It is possible that in the end that the father could wind up sending the kid back to Brazil for the best interest of the kid. I hope that doesn't happen but it could.

[TiredofCorruption]

I say US should BOYCOTT ALL Brazilian businesses INCLUDING Petro Express the largest chain of gas stations in US! THEY ARE CORRUPT AND WRONG for keeping this boy! It is called KIDNAPPING!

[JV1970]

by razzor22 December 19, 2009 9:20 PM EST
If that was your son and he was KIDNAPPED you wouldn't be writing that stupid nonsense. "WRONG, WRONG, WRONG" So you think things are "right or wrong" according to your own personal opinion? HAHAHAHAHA! What an idiot!


You're the one that's the idiot because this kid's mother did what women do everyday when there is trouble in their marriage. She left her husband and took her son with her. Since they weren't divorced when she left and there hadn't been a court ordered custody settlement, she had as much right to her son as the father! If he had legal custody of the child what she did would be kidnapping, but he didn't! Therefore it's not kidnapping! She was just as much the child's parent as the father! Actually in my opinion a mother should have more rights to the children than the father because it was her body that carried the children for nine months and it's the mother that goes through the horrible pain of childbirth and who goes down to death's door bringing the children into the world! It's not the father! Also in most cases it's the mother who changes most of the nasty diapers and nurses the children through cases of flu, chicken pox, measles and whatever else children have today. It's also usually the mother who holds their head and cleans up the mess when they vomit! The father might help out but the main care of the children is usually with the mother! Therefore, in most cases, I believe a mother should have more rights than the father because she's earned them!

[KGgbhrt]

I would like to comment to this extremely insensitive post. Although you may have some valid points about mothers and their children it is cruel to discount the very real love and craving this man has for his only child. No sane person would put themselves through all the effort and heartache unless he had an overwhelming need for his child. Had the mother lived, Mr. Goldman would have had to make peace with the fact that she couldn't give up their child to be raised without her. But the facts are that she is deceased. The stepfather and maternal grandparents do have rights, but they should not supersede that of the natural father unless he has been shown to be incompetent in some way, which has NOT been shown. My heart goes out to Mr. Goldman. Although it will be tough re-establishing a relationship with an older child that hasn't known him for many years, I believe the father's fierce love for his child will get them through this difficult time. I wish them both peace and love as they forge a new bond this Christmas and in the future.

[JV1970]

Libs-R-Insane and Viccy761 I do know what I'm talking about and I'm not comparing apples to oranges because the results are the same. This boy is being taken away from the only father he's known for the last five years. That is exactly the same as an adopted child being given back to their birth parents even if the child was given up voluntarily and not "kidnapped" as in this case. He is being uprooted from the only family he knows. IT IS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! SHOWING HIM VIDEOS AND PHOTOS WON'T CHANGE THAT AND WON'T MAKE HIM HATE HIS FATHER ANY LESS!

[razzor22]

If that was your son and he was KIDNAPPED you wouldn't be writing that stupid nonsense. "WRONG, WRONG, WRONG" So you think things are "right or wrong" according to your own personal opinion? HAHAHAHAHA! What an idiot!

[arlocid]

You are DUMB! DUMB!! DUMB!!!. Writing in caps won't change that it just you more obnoxious.

[JV1970]

by cidaia December 18, 2009 6:38 AM EST
The stepfather, grandmother, and now-deceased wife are all kidnappers. They should be viewed as criminals.

Anyone who turns a child's mind against the other parent is evil. Children have the right to strong, healthy, loving relationships with both parents. When that is impossible because of accidental circumstances, that is tragic. But when it is not possible because one parent is jealous, possessive, controlling - in short, treats the child as "mine", instead of recognizing that you can't OWN a child - that is a parent who is abusive


CIDAIA THIS GIRLS' MOTHER DIDN'T TURN HER DAUGHTER AGAINST HER FATHER. SHE TURNED AGAINST HIM BECAUSE HE JUST WALKED OUT ON THEM ONE DAY AND NEVER CAME BACK UNTIL AFTER HER MOTHER DIED. HIS CHILDREN DIDN'T SEE OR HEAR FROM HIM FOR YEARS BY HIS OWN CHOICE! HE COULD HAVE SEEN THEM ANYTIME BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO. HE JUST STAYED AWAY AND NOT BECAUSE HE WAS FORCED TO EITHER! HE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THEM!HE ALSO DIDN'T SEND THEM ONE DIME OF SUPPORT AND ALTHOUGH THEIR MOTHER WAS EMPLOYED, THERE WERE TIMES WHEN THEIR MOTHER COULDN'T EVEN AFFORD TO BUY THEM DECENT CLOTHES TO WEAR TO SCHOOL. THE DAUGHTER WAS THE OLDEST AND SHE WAS OLD ENOUGH THAT SHE REMEMBERED THIS AND HELD IT AGAINST HER FATHER. SHE ALSO BLAMED HIM FOR HER MOTHER'S DEATH. WHEN THE GIRL REACHED HER TEENS SHE STARTED ACTING OUT AND DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO GET REVENGE AGAINST HER FATHER. THE GIRL DIED A FEW YEARS LATER FROM COMPLICATIONS RESULTING FROM CHILDBIRTH. SHE WENT TO HER GRAVE HATING HER FATHER!

[JV1970]

by cidaia December 18, 2009 6:38 AM EST
The stepfather, grandmother, and now-deceased wife are all kidnappers. They should be viewed as criminals.

Anyone who turns a child's mind against the other parent is evil. Children have the right to strong, healthy, loving relationships with both parents. When that is impossible because of accidental circumstances, that is tragic. But when it is not possible because one parent is jealous, possessive, controlling - in short, treats the child as "mine", instead of recognizing that you can't OWN a child - that is a parent who is abusive


CIDAIA THIS GIRLS' MOTHER DIDN'T TURN HER DAUGHTER AGAINST HER FATHER. SHE TURNED AGAINST HIM BECAUSE HE JUST WALKED OUT ON THEM ONE DAY AND NEVER CAME BACK UNTIL AFTER HER MOTHER DIED. HIS CHILDREN DIDN'T SEE OR HEAR FROM HIM FOR YEARS BY HIS OWN CHOICE! HE COULD HAVE SEEN THEM ANYTIME BUT HE DIDN'T WANT TO. HE JUST STAYED AWAY AND NOT BECAUSE HE WAS FORCED TO EITHER! HE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO SEE THEM!HE ALSO DIDN'T SEND THEM ONE DIME OF SUPPORT AND ALTHOUGH THEIR MOTHER WAS EMPLOYED, THERE WERE TIMES WHEN THEIR MOTHER COULDN'T EVEN AFFORD TO BUY THEM DECENT CLOTHES TO WEAR TO SCHOOL. THE DAUGHTER WAS THE OLDEST AND SHE WAS OLD ENOUGH THAT SHE REMEMBERED THIS AND HELD IT AGAINST HER FATHER. SHE ALSO BLAMED HIM FOR HER MOTHER'S DEATH. WHEN THE GIRL REACHED HER TEENS SHE STARTED ACTING OUT AND DID EVERYTHING SHE COULD TO GET REVENGE AGAINST HER FATHER. THE GIRL DIED A FEW YEARS LATER FROM COMPLICATIONS RESULTING FROM CHILDBIRTH. SHE WENT TO HER GRAVE HATING HER FATHER!

[pdc83]

What is most amazing is that this is world wide news, but every single day in the United States fathers are denied access to their children and flat out denied fair hearings in the U.S. state courts. My ex has denied me all contact with my only son for almost 10 years, in flagrant violation of the visitation orders. The courts refuse to do anything about it despite hundreds of pleadings and dozens of hearings. There is no right to a jury trial and the biased and corrupt judges are only interested in the monetary aspect of the case - child support and continued payment to lawyers to seek visitation enforcement. But God helkp me if I fail to pay child support. Why aren't these stories making news? Is too politically incorrect for mainstream media to recognize the constant and flagrant violation of civil rights under the pretext of "Family Court"? Apparently so.

[08Stacy]

I don't understand why the boy was not given back to the dad when the mom passed away. The mom stole the child saying she was going on vacation out of country and then stayed. It makes me sad that parents have to fight to get their own children back when the parent who took them is in the wrong. There should be international laws to protect the child. I pray the Seanis returned to his father.

[Heartlight]

Never Give Up David! This boy belongs with his only living parent. We need to boycott Brazilian goods, workers, Olympics, etc. until this boy is safely and expediciously returned to his father and country. He is also an American citizen! (dual citizenship)

[Empress1943]

I said this way back on my face book page ... boycott the Olympics, products, Brazillian sports events anything that will effect their economy.

[Libs-R-Insane]

If MARCO AURELIO DE MELLO, the judge who suspended the decision to hand over the boy to his father, had some brain he would know that the boy's stepfather wants the boy to be heard because they have been brainwashing him for the past 5 years taking him to soccer stadiums and giving him all kinds of gifts. Thats unfair.