10-year-old boy reunited with mom after trans dad absconded to Cuba with son
A 10-year-old boy has been reunited with his mother after his father, who identifies as trans, flew his gender-confused son to Cuba in what some family members feared was an attempt to transition the child before he reaches puberty.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah said in a press release on Tuesday that Rose Inessa-Ethington, aka Eri Ethington, 42, and Blue Inessa-Ethington, aka Carly Ann Crosby, 32, were apprehended by authorities in Cuba after absconding with the boy.
According to authorities, the 10-year-old boy and his father, Rose Inessa-Ethington, were supposed to travel to Canada for a camping trip, along with his partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, and her 3-year-old child.
However, the group did not arrive at the Alberta-based campground they had planned to stay at from March 29 to April 2 and instead traveled to Vancouver, then took a flight to Mexico City, Mexico, and then to Havana, Cuba.
Rose Inessa-Ethington and the boy's mother have joint custody of their son, who is said to identify as a girl, due to the influence of his father.
Logan City Police Department of Logan, Utah, released a statement explaining that the biological mother, identified as Lindsey Boden, had first reached out to the boy's father on April 3, expressing concern about not being able to contact her son, of whom she had shared custody.
On April 5, as neither the police nor Boden had been able to contact the boy or his father, local authorities assigned a detective to investigate, discovering that the child had been flown to Cuba on April 1.
From there, Logan police worked with the Cache County Attorney’s Office to issue warrants for the adult couple on charges of custodial interference and contacted the FBI, which provided assistance.
The mother and other family members were concerned that the 10-year-old boy was going to be forced to undergo cosmetic sex-change surgery in Cuba, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
However, gender transition surgeries for trans-identified youth are banned in Cuba, according to The Associated Press, while adult procedures are heavily regulated by medical authorities.
On April 13, a Utah State Court issued an order for the 10-year-old to be returned to the child’s mother at once and gave the mother exclusive custody. Three days later, Cuban authorities located the group in Cuba.
“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child," said Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI, as quoted in the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement.
"This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability.”
The Inessa-Ethingtons were deported from Cuba earlier this week. They were arraigned at a court in Richmond, Virginia, and are slated to be transported to Utah at a future date.
