Mexican Man Convicted Over Attempted Abduction of Daughter
A Japanese court has ruled that a Mexican man broke the law when he tried to forcefully take his daughter out of the country:
The Niigata District Court sentenced Nathanael Teutle Retamoza, 33, to two years in prison, suspended for four years, for his attempt to take the 1-year-old girl to the United States. The ruling comes at a time when the government is preparing legislation to help settle international child custody disputes.
The ruling said it was “selfish” for Retamoza to act on his urge to see his daughter, from whom he had been separated for two months, without heeding the sentiment of his former wife and her relatives.
It also noted that he prepared for the abduction well in advance as he had booked U.S.-bound air tickets for himself and his daughter beforehand.
Several months ago, sites such as Debito.org and Left Behind Parents Japan had posted messages supporting Retamoza’s cause and demanding his release from detention. Somebody also made a YouTube video explaining his Retamoza’s side of the story:
As you can see, the video implies that it was not a forced entry because the mother-in-law opened the door to the house. It states that nobody was hurt except for Retamoza, who was beaten by Japanese police officers.
The news report about his conviction mentions the many months he was detained, but it doesn’t say anything about the alleged police brutality. It would also seem that Retamoza showed remorse for the inflicting injuries on the mother-in-law:
However, the court said the prison sentence is suspended as the man regretted inflicting on his former mother-in-law injuries that required two weeks of treatment and received punishment in the forms of nearly eight months of detention and abandonment of his daughter’s custody.
Having received a suspended sentence, Retamoza is now free. A Facebook group of his supporters is seeking donations to help him buy an air ticket home to Mexico.
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