When you’re at odds with the courts, the last thing you should do is take the law into your own hands. Child custody arrangements are taken very seriously, because the child’s life is of the utmost importance to the courts. If the court orders you not to leave the state, you should not leave the state.
This case shows why it’s important to listen to what your family court says. A couple from Ashland, Florida, were arrested after they left town with their 7-year-old daughter, violating a court order in the process. The 33-year-old man and 43-year-old woman picked up their child from school in October and then fled with her. The girl had been in the custody of the Department of Human Services Child Welfare since September, for reasons undisclosed.
Shortly after that, she was placed in her mother’s custody. One note was that she was not allowed to have contact with her father.
When the woman missed a court date on Oct. 5, the Department of Human Services took the little girl to place her with a relative. In June that year, the father was accused of strangling the child’s mother in front of her, so the Department of Human Services feared for the child.
Now, the two both face charges for allegedly placing the child in harm’s way and for removing the girl from DHS custody. A warrant had been issued for their arrests in October, and they were recently found in Florida after several months.
Cases like these are complicated, and family dynamics can affect what happens to a child. It’s important to take time to understand your court orders, so you don’t violate them and find yourself in contempt of court.
Source: Mail Tribune, “Ashland pair who fled with child arrested in Florida,” Dec. 22, 2016