This past Friday, a Milwaukee father was reunited with his daughter, whose mother abducted her to Japan shortly after the father filed for divorce back in 2008.
The father, Moises Garcia, met his daughter at O'Hare International Airport, where she arrived with her grandmother and Garcia's Japanese lawyer. Along with Sakar, there were several law enforcement officials, staff of the Japanese Consulate in Chicago, a psychologist, representatives of the U.S. State Department and advocates for other American parents whose children are being held in Japan, where officials have refused to sign a world convention about international child abduction.
The girl's return also freed her mother from jail in Milwaukee, where she had been held on contempt charges due to her interference with a prior child custody order. The mother was arrested on a Wisconsin warrant in Hawaii, where she had gone to renew her U.S. permanent resident status.
Garcia's ex-wife, Emiko Inoue, 43, is Japanese with legal U.S. residency while married to Garcia, a physician. She took her daughter to Japan in February 2008, shortly after Garcia had filed for divorce, and ignored court orders to return. Last month, Inoue pleaded no contest to interfering with child custody under an agreement that she would ultimately be convicted of a misdemeanor if her daughter was returned to Garcia, who has legal custody.
From an Orange County divorce lawyer's perspective, such child custody battles can be very traumatic and expensive. The father in this case had not seen his daugther since 2008 and miraculously, she was released back to her father after many years of court battle.
This case is also sets an example of what happens to parents who do not comply with court orders. The court can hold the person in contempt and throw them in jail or pay a fine.
For more information on any child custody or visitation issues you may have, contact an Orange County divorce lawyer for more information.
