Indian-American man convicted for kidnapping his own child

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New
York,
July
26:
A
38-year-old
Indian-American
has
been
convicted
of
international
parental
kidnapping
after
he
took
his
US-born
child
to
India
and
later
failed
to
bring
the
kid
back
to
the
mother
in
the
United
States.

Amitkumar
Kanubhai
Patel
from
Vadodara,
who
formerly
lived
in
Edison,
New
Jersey,
was
convicted
last
week
of
one
count
of
international
parental
kidnapping
following
a
five-day
trial
before
US
District
Judge
Renee
Marie
Bumb
in
Camden
federal
court
in
New
Jersey,
news
agency
PTI
reported.

The
international
parental
kidnapping
offense
of
which
Patel
stands
convicted
carries
a
maximum
penalty
of
three
years
in
prison
and
a
maximum
fine
of
USD
250,000.
He
will
be
sentenced
in
November
this
year.

Patel
is
a
naturalised
US
citizen
who
had
been
living
in
India.
He
was
convicted
of
obstructing
the
parental
rights
of
his
child’s
mother
by
kidnapping
the
child
and
failing
to
return
the
child
to
the
United
States
when
ordered
to
do
so,
US
Attorney
Philip
R
Sellinger
said
Monday.

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men
acquitted
in
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plot

According
to
documents
filed
in
this
case
and
the
evidence
at
trial,
the
child’s
mother
and
Patel
were
in
a
relationship
and
resided
together
in
New
Jersey
from
August
2015
through
July
2017.

The
two
never
married.
In
November
2016,
they
had
a
child,
who
was
born
in
Edison
Township.

According
to
the
child’s
mother,
Patel
wanted
to
take
the
child
to
India
to
introduce
him
to
Patel’s
parents
and
obtain
DNA
testing,
which
Patel
claimed
was
necessary
for
the
child
to
claim
property
that
Patel’s
family
owned
in
India.

Patel
also
told
the
child’s
mother
that
in
order
to
obtain
an
Indian
visa
for
the
child,
he
would
need
to
secure
sole
custody,
which
required
them
to
go
to
court.

Patel
instructed
the
mother
to
tell
the
court
that
they
had
a
mutual
understanding
regarding
the
custody
of
their
child.
Patel
instructed
the
mother
to
state
that
she
did
not
have
a
work
permit,
and
since
she
was
unemployed,
she
could
not
care
for
her
child.

In
May
2017,
Patel
took
the
child’s
mother
to
New
Jersey
Superior
Court,
Chancery
Division
Family
Court,
in
order
to
obtain
sole
custody
of
the
child.

According
to
the
mother,
the
majority
of
the
hearing
was
conducted
in
English
with
no
translator.
At
the
time
of
the
hearing,
the
mother
spoke
limited
English.
The
mother
answered
the
court’s
questions
as
she
had
been
instructed
by
Patel
and
was
not
represented
by
an
attorney
during
the
hearing.

The
New
Jersey
Superior
Court
granted
Patel
sole
legal
custody
of
the
child
premised
on
the
consent
of
the
child’s
mother
to
the
arrangement,
but
specifically
reserved
for
the
mother
the
ability
to
file
for
joint
legal
custody
if
she
so
chose
in
the
future.

Upon
receiving
the
court
order,
Patel
obtained
visas
to
India
for
himself
and
the
child,
and
booked
air
travel,
telling
the
child’s
mother
that
they
would
only
be
gone
for
two
weeks
to
a
month.

Patel
took
the
child
to
India
in
July
2017
and
after
several
days
in
India,
called
the
mother
and
said
that
he
was
never
bringing
the
child
back
to
the
United
States.

The
child’s
mother
obtained
legal
counsel
and
returned
to
the
New
Jersey
Superior
Court.

In
October
2018,
the
New
Jersey
Superior
Court
entered
an
order
directing
Patel
to
return
the
child
to
the
United
States
immediately.
The
mother’s
counsel
emailed
the
family
court
order
to
Patel,
who
did
not
return
the
child
to
the
United
States.

In
October
2020,
Patel
and
the
child
flew
from
India
to
the
United
Kingdom.

Upon
arrival,
Patel
was
arrested
based
on
a
provisional
arrest
request
submitted
by
the
United
States.

After
a
custody
hearing
in
London
pursuant
to
the
Hague
Convention,
the
London
Court
ordered
it
was
in
the
best
interest
of
the
child
that
the
child
be
returned
to
his
paternal
grandparents
in
India.
Patel
was
extradited
to
the
United
States
in
September
2021
from
England
to
stand
trial
in
the
case.