A Midwestern woman who had fled to Tennessee in January is being held on a $25,000 bond after reportedly making off with her 3-year-old son. The child custody dispute is occurring in Minnesota’s neighboring state of Wisconsin, according to authorities, and the woman is currently being held in the Outagamie County jail.
The 27-year-old woman made an initial courtroom appearance in early May, facing charges of interfering with child custody. The woman had agreed to a placement schedule after she refused to comply with the first draft of a custody agreement with the boy’s father. That man was supposed to have had custody of the boy from July into January, according to official reports.
Authorities report that the man dropped the child off at the woman’s house on Jan. 24, but neither the mother nor the boy was at the residence when he returned on Jan. 28. The apartment was empty, said the father, and an eviction notice was posted on the door. The woman is currently prohibited from having any contact with her son or the boy’s father. She returned to Wisconsin in early May to turn herself in to local law enforcement officers.
In this case, the woman could face a maximum sentence of 12 1/2 years in prison and a hefty $25,000 in fines. It is not clear whether she has yet filed a plea in the case.
The woman in this story clearly did not agree with the provisions of her child custody agreement. Rather than abducting her son, however, she should have considered seeking assistance from a family attorney. This qualified professional could have helped her petition for child custody modifications that could have been more to the woman’s liking. Her attorney could have fought to ensure that the woman received the maximum allowable time with her son, perhaps scheduling supervised visits if the boy’s father was concerned. If you are worried about your child custody agreement, consider speaking to a qualified family attorney.
Source: www.postcrescent.com, “$25,000 bail set for former Fox Cities woman in child custody case” Jim Collar, May. 03, 2013