American in Brazil custody dispute reaches agreement to visit son he hasn't seen in 4 years

Newsday.com ^ | Feb 6, 2009 | MARCO SIBAJA

[grasshopper2]

American in Brazil custody dispute reaches agreement to visit son he hasn't seen in 4 yearsBy MARCO SIBAJA | Associated Press Writer 8:59 PM EST, February 6, 2009

US citizen David Goldman, right, walks with a member of US Congress Christopher Smith as he arrives in Brasilia, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. Goldman has waged a four-year custody battle for his son, Sean, in Brazil. Goldman said he has not been allowed to see his 8-year-old son Sean since his former wife Bruna took the boy for a two-week vacation to her native Brazil in 2004 and never returned. Bruna remarried in Brazil and later died of complications from the birth of another child. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres) (Eraldo Peres, AP / February 5, 2009)

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — An American who has waged a four-year custody battle for his son in Brazil reached an agreement Friday to visit the 8-year-old boy.

David Goldman reached the agreement during a five-hour mediation session. The custody battle started in 2004 after his wife took the boy to her native Brazil, according to Goldman.

[grasshopper2]

This poor father hasn't seen his son in the four years since his wife took the child back to Brazil where she later remarried, then died after giving birth to a second child. The Brazilian step father, who comes from an influencial family, is keeping the boy as his own.

This story is an outrage.

Fortunately, Congressman Chris Smith got involved in the case after hearing about the case from a TV program.

I hope and pray Mr. Goldman returns to the US with his little boy.

[Marie2]

I saw this story on Dateline or something similar.

This guy is a profile in courage and perseverance. God grant him his child back.

[grasshopper2]

Yes, it was on Dateline and people can find a link to it at here http://www.bringseanhome.org/home.html

It's such a tragic story. I feel so bad for the father and so angry at the Brazilian justice system which has been apparently bought off.

[remaxagnt]

i seen on dateline too. May God be with this man and his son. Lets all prey for his arrival home.

[Tired of Taxes]

I followed your link and watched his interview on the video at the bottom. Very sad. I hope he succeeds in his case. Ironically, if the woman had stayed here with him, her real husband, maybe she wouldn’t have died giving birth.

[grasshopper2]

True, she would still be alive had she not taken the child away from his father and remarried while still legally married in the US.

I will be writing to all the contacts listed at the Bring Sean Home website and I urge others reading this to do the same.

[Tailgunner Joe]

The child will not be returned to his father because children are only to be returned to communist countries, like Elian Gonzales.

[grasshopper2]

I have read in another source that the kidnapper (the step father) comes from a powerful leftist family with ties to the Brazilian Socialist party.

I think Americans should boycott brazilian products, cancel tourism and protest at their embassy until the Brazilian government releases this boy to his father and tosses the kidnapper in jail.

[cherry]

"True, she would still be alive had she not taken the child away from his father and remarried while still legally married in the US."

what tripe......sounds almost like the refrain "if Bush hadn't been elected, Christopher Reeves would be alive and WALKING!

[SuziQ]

I feel so bad for the father and so angry at the Brazilian justice system which has been apparently bought off.

Our future daughter in law and her parents and brother moved to the U.S. from Brazil about 20 years ago. Her father told me that one of the main reasons they did so, was because he knew that in Brazil, it was hard to get justice when you were wronged. He saw, from having spent time here in the U.S., visiting family, that people who robbed, assaulted, or murdered someone, would usually be caught and eventually punished. He believed his family would be safer here, so they emigrated. He and his wife have worked hard, starting a cleaning business. Both the kids went to college, Sarah graduating from Law School last year, and her brother going into Finance.

[SuziQ]

The way the story reads, she and the father had already divorced, and she took the boy to Brazil, ostensibly for a two week visit to family, but never returned. She remarried while there, but died in childbirth, later.

[Trailerpark Badass]

No, she gave no indication that she wanted out of the marriage until she and the boy were back in Brasil, on "vacation."

The father was to meet them in Brasil a week after they left, but before he left the US, she called telling him to come to Brasil to sign divorce papers there and sign over cusotdy.

[grasshopper2]

The step father, Joao de Lins e Silva is a prominent attorney in practice with his father concentrating family law and chid custody including matters involving, coincidentally, international kidnapping. The elder Lins e Silva, Paulo has given speeches on the very international law he and his son are breaking.

The step father's grandfather, Evandro, who died in 2003, was a founder of the Brazilian socialit party, a celebrity lawyer and friend of the current president, Lula.

Looks like this family is above the law.

I think the only way Mr. Goldman will get his son back is if there is tremendous public pressure in Brazil. One way to do that is for the US to stop issuing vistas to Brazilians until the boy is released. Upper class Brazilians love to visit the United States and a travel ban might upset them enough to do the trick.

[grasshopper2]

Our future daughter in law and her parents and brother moved to the U.S. from Brazil about 20 years ago.

The Brazilian people are wonderful and I'm sure your son will be happy with his Brazilian wife. Brazil is also a great country. Unfortunately, it can't get rid of its corruption and this makes it a dangerous country to live in or to visit. During the period of the military dictatorship, it was safer, I think. The last 25 years have seen a steady increase in crime and lawlessness. The rich live in gated communities. Even the middle class are starting to live in gated communities. I've been there twice for extended visits and was thinking of going this summer, but I'm not so sure now. The crime problem is just too much of a worry.

[Caipirabob]

I have had my experiences with the Brasilian people, and I can say I've had a lot of fun. Those who embrace undiluted Christianity are as wonderful as you could hope for. I wish you and your family all the best.