Judge to rule on whether rights of mom accused of abducting her child were violated
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LETHBRIDGE, AB – A Lethbridge woman, accused of abducting her child in 2014 and taking him to Belize, will find out in about a month, whether a judge agrees with the argument that her Charter rights were violated.
Case Management Judge Jerry LeGrandeur heard arguments from both the Crown and Defense, about whether Canadian authorities involved themselves with Belizean authorities to have the mother arrested and flown back to Canada. The child was also flown back to Canada a short time after his mother.
According to the Lethbridge Police Service, the 35-year-old woman had been wanted by authorities since 2014, after she allegedly failed to drop off the 11-month-old child for a court-ordered visit with his father. She was tracked through Mexico, Guatemala, and parts of Belize, where she was taken into custody.
Defense Lawyer Andre Ouellette argued in court Wednesday (Oct. 23), that his client was removed, rather than deported from Belize, and that Belizean authorities acting on behalf of Canadian authorities, interfered with her ability to decide where she was going to go. They effectively detained her, knowing they had a warrant that had no effect in that country. She was not allowed to speak with her friends and was put on a plane back to Canada – something that was also orchestrated by Canadian authorities.
