I've received emails over the holidays asking for a summary of what has happened and what the status is now, so on this January 7th, 2010 - the 7th Anniversary of Emily Rose being taken it - here is a summary:
The 5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona, FL has the first appeal before it and has done so since November 2008 - more than a year ago.
Read the summary and make your own judgment as to why someone is being charged and prosecuted for stalking from across the Atlantic Ocean.
History of Emily Rose Hindle AbductionThe principal issues are:
- Abduction of Emily Rose from UK to US with assistance of U.S. Department of State officials, notably Barbara Greig of the Office of Children's Issues and hiding and concealing Emily Rose across the U.S. including when I had legal custody of her;
- Allowing Emily Rose to go without medical treatment for her eye condition which has now rendered her permanently blinded in her right eye - 9 American and British eye specialists recommended treatment to save her sight (which needed to be completed before she turned 3/4 years old) and it was ordered under a Hague Convention order by a Supreme Court Justice in London, U.K. but completely ignored by the U.S. court and authorities;
- The sale and adoption efforts of Emily Rose's mother which also placed Emily Rose into the care and contact of a convicted pedophile, Leslie Merriam in Wisconsin;
- The conduct of Barbara Greig and the U.S. Department of State to block my efforts to litigate in the U.S. by orchestrating my arrest, incarceration and deportation to stop court proceedings and thwart court orders;
- The continued abuse of Emily Rose by her mother and step-father, including coaching Emily Rose in the making of sexual abuse allegations while the Floridian authorities do nothing - the response of DCF has been to threaten me with criminal proceedings for making false neglect reports when I complained of Emily Rose's eye neglect, for instance; and
- The filing of over 300 police complaints by the mother, her husband and some of her friends claiming stalking, harassment, domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault on the child and much more - only to be found to be false by numerous police investigations and court rulings - and yet no sanction against the mother, except to find her guilty of criminal contempt on one occasion has been applied - at a cost of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars, the US government and FL authorities refuse to protect Emily and continue to try to paint me as a bad man no matter how many times the courts say she's misbehaving.
The Hague Convention and History
Emily Rose was born on March 1st, 2002 to Sheila Kay Fuith and Karl Hindle - Sheila is American and I am British, and Emily was born in Britain. Sheila and I were never married.
Emily Rose was diagnosed with an eye condition which was leaving her to go
permanently blind in her right eye but she was treatable as it had been caught so early. We started treatment for Emily Rose at the local hospital in Britain.
On January 7th 2003, Sheila took Emily Rose from our home while I was at work.
Sheila went to the U.S. Embassy London, and claimed to be a victim of domestic violence, obtained a passport and took Emily Rose to Maryland, U.S. without my knowledge or consent.
Shortly after, she moved to Minnesota and then Wisconsin.
I started to search for Emily Rose and found that Sheila was married with two children she had abandoned in Minnesota; I did not know of this family throughout my relationship with Sheila.
Sheila and Emily disappeared completely in May 2003.
I had meanwhile retained lawyers in Wisconsin and Minnesota to start legal proceedings but was advised there was no jurisdiction and to file in the U.K.
I filed in July 2003 in the U.K. and was awarded parental rights on August 14th, 2003.
Sheila agreed to meet in Florida in August 2003 to discuss issues because I was dealing with the F.B.I. who were looking at warrants for the arrest of Sheila for medical neglect and child endangerment.
Sheila and I met in Florida where she told me she was living in Virginia.
She claimed she was getting medical treatment for Emily but she was lying and leaving Emily Rose to go blind.
I offered reconciliation if Sheila returned to the U.K. - she accepted.
On September 19th, 2003 Sheila and Emily Rose returned to the U.K. whereupon the British police stopped Sheila and removed Emily Rose from her mother and gave her to me.
Sheila then invoked the Hague Convention claiming I had kidnapped Emily Rose from Florida.
Barbara Greig at the Office of Children's Issues claimed Florida held jurisdiction because Sheila and Emily Rose had lived there for more than 6 months. This was a lie.
The High Court London heard the Hague application and sent Emily Rose to Florida for proceedings to take place but ordered medical treatment for the eye condition "forthwith upon return".
Finally, I was allowed to travel in April 2004 with my visa expiring on 20th April (restricted by Greig and Keiser recommendations) - Greig communicated visa restrictions to Sheila and her attorney for use in timing court hearings after my visa expired.
As I was preparing to leave the U.S. I was offered a chance to see Emily Rose, but only on my day of departure - this was to try to entice me to violate the visa conditions and was made on the day before my flight.
I was also summonsed to defend myself against a domestic violence injunction application to be heard on the day after the visa expired - if I stayed to defend myself, I violated the State Department restriction to leave the country, if I didn't defend myself it would justify barring me from any further travel to the U.S. (which was happening in any event).
I applied to extend the visa and stayed.
I won the domestic violence injunction - Sheila was admonished for her dishonesty.
I was then
arrested by U.S. Immigration for overstaying the visa beyond the State Department restrictions (even though I had applied for an extension) - this was ordered by
Barbara Greig, responsible for the Hague Convention implementation with the U.K., but subsequently denied by the then director of OCI,
John Ballif.
I spent a month in immigration detention until I was deported in May 2004. I was then permanently barred from entering the U.S. on the grounds I had harassed the American citizen mother - the U.S. Embassy claimed it did not have to follow the court orders or the Hague Convention.
When the British Government sought explanation it was advised that, Greig and the State Department had no involvement in my arrest and deportation, that they did not have any authority to conduct any investigation into my presence in the U.S. and that they had not done so. Further, the U.S. Department of State was not stopping me from seeing Emily Rose or litigating in Florida by delaying or denying visa issuance.
I was permanently barred from entering the U.S. on the grounds I had harassed the American mother - William Muntean of the U.S. Embassy, London was presented with my court orders under the Hague Convention and from the Florida court granting child visitation and the domestic violence finding in my favor. His reponse when denying the visa to get back to the U.S. was simple:
"We don't have to follow those!"
I was unable to travel to the U.S. until January 2005, after I had obtained a visa with the help of the offices of Congressman Mica.
Upon learning of my visa being issued, Sheila abducted Emily Rose out of state and hid her.
Missing & Endangered: Abducted from Florida
Emily Rose was located in Kansas/Missouri and brought down to Florida in January 2006 whereupon the judge ordered Emily Rose will stay with her mom and we would start visitation yet again.
Sheila was found guilty of criminal contempt but not jailed or punished by the judge, His Honor Judge John Doyle.
I went into hiding because several people connected with Sheila threatened to kill me and I waited for the investigation to be conducted.
The consensus of Daytona Beach P.D., D.C.F. and the State Attorney as well as the medical personnel at Halifax Medical Center, Daytona, was that no abuse had taken place and Sheila was coaching Emily Rose in the making of statements and teaching her the male masturbation motion.
In May 2006 there was a hearing on the child sexual abuse and the treatment for Emily Rose's eye condition.
The judge refused to hear any evidence of the sexual abuse report by Sheila - her attorney, Kim Banister lied to the court repeatedly that her client was not behind the report - she had a copy of Sheila's handwritten police complaint in her possession when she did this.
Judge Doyle had the investigating D.C.F. official removed from the court room.
Judge Doyle also refused to hear evidence on the eye condition and claimed;
"A patch? A patch! Is that what this is all about? It doesn't seem important to me!"
With that, Emily Rose was allowed to go permanently blind and I had then to return to the U.K. because my visa was expiring.
I said,
"But she's going blind!"
Judge Doyle ordered me removed from the court room.
Upon returning to the UK I applied on numerous occasions to get a visa to travel back to the US for court ordered visitation, but more importantly to conclude the legal proceedings.
Multiple visa requests were denied - officially the US Embassy claimed I was attempting to emigrate to the US, unofficially and as recorded during visa interviews in the Embassy, the reason they were using was the harassment of the American mother and they were ignoring the findings of the Hague Convention and the US court ordering visitation and finding the mother in criminal contempt for her conduct in making false allegations and abducting Emily from Florida.
With the assistance of several attorneys, Congressman Mica's offices and the British Government a visa was procured for trial in May 2008 - some 5 years after Emily was sent for "prompt and effective" hearings in the US.
We had request three days for presentation of evidence including the evidence of the fraud on the British High Court with the mother's and State Department's claims that Florida held jurisdiction, Emily's blindness and medical neglect, the sexual abuse coaching, the sale/adoption of Emily and being given into the care and contact of a convicted pedophile.
Judge Doyle threatened to jail me to "straighten me out" and that we would only have the day to present evidence and if we did not leave enough time for the mother to respond he would automatically award custody to the mother.
Judge Doyle refused to allow depositions to be read into the record - depositions of the pedophile, Leslie Merriam; members of her family who testified she was not fit to look after Emily; the medical evidence; the sexual abuse evidence and more - all were ruled not admissible.
Judge Doyle did not keep out the evidence of the mother and Barbara Greig at OCI arrangin for my arrest in 2004 - upon reading the correspondence Judge Doyle exclaimed:
"Mr Hindle, the Federal Government is screwing you!"
When the jurisdiction issue was raised, Judge Doyle dismissed the lack of jurisdiction stating:
"In this county, we're provincvials. We don't do the Hague Convention!"
I returned to the UK shortly after trial because my visa was once more restricted by the State Department - Emily's mother would not allow me to see her during my visit.
Finally, in October 2008, Judge Doyle issued a final order - Emily was to be kept in Florida with her mother with visitation given to me and a $30,000 back child support bill which took no account of child support already paid.
In November 2008, I filed an appeal with the
5th District Court of Appeal in Daytona - in the mother's appeal brief she admits, Florida did not have jurisdiction at the time she and Barbara Greig of OCI told the UK court it did in fact have it.
By now, financially exhausted (having spent over $400,000), I was forced to represent myself in the legal proceedings.
In November 2008, I tried to see Emily for court ordered visitation - I flew to the US and then drove with my fiance from Richmond VA to Panama City FL - we ran into Sheila at the local police station where a police officer read the order to Sheila (Emily's mom)and told her she had been ordered to give me Thanksgiving visitation.
She flat out refused.
She then offered visitation a few days after Thanksgiving and set a date, time and pick up in Panama City.
We drove back to Richmond VA (990 miles one way)because of work and made the trip back a few days later for visitation.
Emily and her mother did not show.
I did get a summons from the court in Volusia - I was being held in criminal contempt for failing to pay child support and harssing the mother. My child support was current and the mother was claiming me calling or trying to contact her about Emily was harassment.
It was thrown out but Emily and I didn't get to see her for court ordered visitation for Christmas, in January, in February and nor for her birthday.
I filed for criminal contempt of the mother for her behavior - I was then allowed to see Emily for Spring Break in 2009.
With trepidation and submerged hope, we traveled to Panama City FL a third time - to be confronted by a man who threatened first me, and then my fiance - a five foot nothing, not quite 100 pound, kindergarten schoolteacher - in front of Emily and two Panama City PD police officers called to protect the mother who stood not ten feet away and did nothing.
The reason why the police did nothing became apparent - "Paul" claimed to be a cop.
Nevertheless, we came away with Emily - all of us scared.
Patsy (my fiance) and I complained to the police - but we didn't know who the man was except he was called Paul.
We enjoyed a week with
Emily - the first time in 3 years we'd seen each other and it was wonderful but Patsy was so scared, she was frightened to be alone (and I admit, so was I).
We had a further hearing in May 2009 on the mother's conduct - the judge refused to act because the matter was before the Appeal court. He asked if I would try visitation again and I refused - I was and continue to be too frightened to do that again - I was right to refuse.
In September 2009, I was advised to leave the US by US Immigration even though we were still waiting for the Appeal to finish.
I returned to the UK and shortly afterwards, Patsy forwarded some papers which advised I had been
charged with stalking the man who had threatened us in Panama City - he turned out to be Paul Swindell, Sheila's new husband, but instead of being a cop, he was a Corrections Officer.
Paul Swindle claims I have followed him continuously since April 2009 and have been watching his home, a trailer on a trailer park in Panama City. With the exception of the Spring Break visitation I have not been within 500 miles of Panama City in 2009 - coming to Florida for a one day visit in May for a court hearing at which Judge Rowe refused to act, and again in August, with Patsy, to file the final appellate brief and catch up with my fellow LBP's and friends,
Ariel Ayubo and Robert Skelton in New Smyrna Beach on the east coast.
I faxed the court in Panama City explaining I had not been served and was in the UK and asking for representation to be provided. Instead, Judge Shane Vann issued a warrant for my arrest because I had failed to appear before him.
Today, I cannot return to the US as, as a foreigner, I will be arrested and detained by Immigration until transported to Florida for the stalking charge. Unless this is resolved, the Appeal will not proceed as I must attend the oral argument hearing before the Appeal Court - if I do I will be arrested and jailed, if I don't the case will end.
SummaryAfter experiencing the pain and fear which goes with losing a child to abduction, I have learned a signal lesson - the fear you may feel for yourself is nothing compared to the fear you feel for those you love. Your wife, your husband, your children - I would rather be shot at every day than go through the fear I feel for Emily.
The fear I felt when I found out about the sale/adoption of Emily and especially, when I found the pedophile's involvement - I have never felt fear to such an extent in my life.
To have to stand by and wait for your child to go blind is horrific -
a 50 cent eye patch was all that was required, but less than 40 miles from where man was sent to the moon, this did not seem important to the American judge and officials, and least of all to Emily's mother, Sheila Swindell.
To date, I have had over 300 police complaints filed against me by Emily's mom and her friends, including her new husband - stalking, domestic violence, harassment, making child pornography with my children in England, having sex with Emily, attempted break in at her home, surveillance of her home, kidnapping, child abuse and more.
300 reports have produced 6 major police investigations of these complaints in the US and the UK.
They have resulted in 8 instances of the US and UK courts ruling none of this has happened.
Unfortunately, the authorities in the US Government and in Florida are not interested - sooner or later, they will get a verdict even if they have to make up the evidence.
The cost to Emily - her eye and her Daddy and family - the cost to the US taxpayer, hundreds of thousands of your tax dollars.
The cost to me - I cannot write about that.
The cost to Sheila for behaving this way - nothing. No punishment, no sanction - nothing.
One final life lesson for me is that if you are going to succeed in recovering any semblance of a relationship with your child, perhaps even to be fortunate enough to recover your child, you must act from the love you feel for them and not the anger you feel against those who have taken them.
Love is true and will keep you going, but anger and hate will twist and warp you into a creature which you and your child will never recognize. When Emily Rose and I are reunited, she is going to see her daddy and she will see how much I love you - she will never see an angry man.
For those in America who have been frustrated at how slow things have been for David and Sean Goldman - the legal machinations and the endless appeals - it took 5 years for a trial in America only for the judge to say he doesn't do the Hague Convention and today, 13 months have elapsed since the filing of the first Appeal which has still not been heard.
If it wasn't for so many Americans who have helped along the way, I wouldn't be where I am today on this road, but then again, if it was not for the American authorities and people like Barbara Greig, Leslie Merriam, Judge Doyle and Paul Swindell, I wouldn't be on this road at all.
Seven long years - how much longer before America steps up to the plate and does the right thing?
<">threatened my fiance and I when we finally got to see Emily last year (for the only time in four years).
<">threatened my fiance and I when we finally got to see Emily last year (for the only time in four years).
