I spoke to Chris Cuomo from ABC’s Good Morning America recently on behalf of Dad-O-matic. We talked about the Liam McCarty case. He’s the boy that was illegally taken by his mother to Italy, where he is supposedly living in an orphanage as a ward of the state, after his mother, Manuela Antonelli, was ruled unfit to maintain custody. Michael McCarty, 49, the father, has been trying to reunite with his son ever since he was taken but has been unsuccessful and an example of a growing trend of parental alienation cases.
Dad-O-matic
“Chris, what is the latest on this case?”
Chris Cuomo
“Liam’s whereabouts are somewhat of a mystery. He is supposedly living in an orphanage, but word is he is spending time with his maternal grandparents, even though his mother filed complaints against them. This is one slice of a very confounding tale.
Dad-O-matic
“Where is the father now? Is he there in Italy?”
Chris Cuomo
“No. And here is another slice. The father had been told to wait until the most recent evaluation of the child’s situation was complete. He says he was told it would take a few weeks, but it has been months. Also, he’s got a business here in the states, so he can’t afford to stop everything to go wait over there for who knows how long they’ll keep him waiting.”
Dad-O-matic
“How long has this been going on?”
Chris Cuomo
“Another slice. Over 5 years. The mother and father have been at odds since Liam was only a few months old. Liam was shuttled back and forth between Italy and the U.S. The father has not seen his son since April, and the boy has been in Italy ever since the father was awarded custody in the U.S. in 2008. Liam is over 8 now
Dad-O-matic
“What is the primary reasons given by the Italian officials for keeping Liam separated from his father?”
Chris Cuomo
Our reporting is ongoing, and the Italian authorities are tight-lipped because there is ongoing litigation. Basically Italian authorities initially awarded the mother custody without much knowledge of the situation, according to the father. The officials ignored the U.S. legal custody determination on the son (Liam was born in italy but is a U.S. citizen because his father is, and he lived here over half his life). The mother made allegations of sexual abuse of the boy against the father in the us and in Italy. The U.S. had more than one agency review and found nothing. In fact, the false allegations played a role in the determination that the mother was unfit here in the us. The Italian officials also ignored all the documentation of the us review of the allegations and insisted on their own review. They, too, found no basis and the review once again contributed to a finding that the mother was unfit. Parental alienation is a developing phenomenon in the U.S. It is used as a bomb in custody situations. It started the father on the wrong path in Italy.
All this said, Liam is estranged from his father and is very hostile toward him. The father says this is from numerous interviews with doctors about abuse and brainwashing by his mother and her family. Whatever the reason, Liam has expressed a desire not to see his father.
Dad-O-matic
“So the father hasn’t been cleared or convicted of anything yet?”
Chris Cuomo
“That is also kind of unclear. All the reviews done in the us and in Italy have accused the father of no abuse, and there is even a finding from some level of the Italian court system awarding custody to the father and yet he is still isolated from the son
Dad-O-matic
“So what else can the father do?”
Chris Cuomo
“He has no other choice but to wait now. Liam’s fate rests in the hands of the Italian judicial system now. He has appeared on many news casts and done a bunch of interviews. There’s even a website called “http://saveLiam.Org”
Dad-O-matic
“What can we do about this?”
Chris Cuomo
“Let me be clear about this. I am not Liam’s advocate here. I merely want to find some answers, and as a parent, and frankly, as an attorney, I am motivated by the apparent inequities here not to mention the absolute damage this poor kid has suffered. Things just aren’t adding up here. I think it’s sad that this boy has spent so much time away from both parents in a foreign country’s orphanage. We just need answers. And Liam needs to get placed with people who love him and some normalcy.
Dad-O-matic
“Can social media and social networks help?”
Chris Cuomo
“Yes, when you look at David Goldman, the father who is fighting for his son Sean, who was secreted by his now deceased mother to Brazil, and at Mike McCarty in this instance, and many other parents in similar situations around the world we need to find out what good the Hague convention is and the respect of countries for it (one of the provisions demands return of a child within 6 weeks, when a host country makes a showing of wrongful removal) perhaps if enough of us ask the right questions, then maybe we’ll get someone’s attention and finally get some answers that make some sense. The sad thing is that this happens a lot. There are over a thousand cases worldwide. This very well could happen to any one of us.
I think this would be a worthy cause to mobilize the troops online. Just like the people of Iran used twitter to spread the word to the world, maybe we can do the same here”
Here are some useful Resources that will keep you informed of the latest updates regarding Liam McCarty.
On twitter, use the hashtag #SaveLiam
Twitter’s search engine for everything about Liam
Official SaveLiam website that tracks everything regarding Liam’s case
FBI most wanted list for Liam’s mother
Interpol entry regarding Liam’s kidnapping
David Goldman’s Bring Sean Home website: http://BringSeanHome.org
Here’s a video about Liam
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Another case of Parental Alienation by government-sponsored kidnapping of a child….. it seems that the rule of law is a joke between countries, sometimes. Those in family court know that when one parent kidnaps or refuses visitation/parenting, the courts and the governments involved do not take action to protect children’s rights. 25 million American children, perhaps even more will go to bed tonight not having seen their dad for a year. This is not the fault of the dads who for the most part demand to be involved, but government buying of family court systems for jobs for state workers.
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Another case of Parental Alienation by government-sponsored kidnapping of a child….. it seems that the rule of law is a joke between countries, sometimes. Those in family court know that when one parent kidnaps or refuses visitation/parenting, the courts and the governments involved do not take action to protect children's rights. 25 million American children, perhaps even more will go to bed tonight not having seen their dad for a year. This is not the fault of the dads who for the most part demand to be involved, but government buying of family court systems for jobs for state workers.
#
Another case of Parental Alienation by government-sponsored kidnapping of a child….. it seems that the rule of law is a joke between countries, sometimes. Those in family court know that when one parent kidnaps or refuses visitation/parenting, the courts and the governments involved do not take action to protect children's rights. 25 million American children, perhaps even more will go to bed tonight not having seen their dad for a year. This is not the fault of the dads who for the most part demand to be involved, but government buying of family court systems for jobs for state workers.
#
Another case of Parental Alienation by government-sponsored kidnapping of a child….. it seems that the rule of law is a joke between countries, sometimes. Those in family court know that when one parent kidnaps or refuses visitation/parenting, the courts and the governments involved do not take action to protect children's rights. 25 million American children, perhaps even more will go to bed tonight not having seen their dad for a year. This is not the fault of the dads who for the most part demand to be involved, but government buying of family court systems for jobs for state workers.
#
Another case of Parental Alienation by government-sponsored kidnapping of a child….. it seems that the rule of law is a joke between countries, sometimes. Those in family court know that when one parent kidnaps or refuses visitation/parenting, the courts and the governments involved do not take action to protect children's rights. 25 million American children, perhaps even more will go to bed tonight not having seen their dad for a year. This is not the fault of the dads who for the most part demand to be involved, but government buying of family court systems for jobs for state workers.