Teen surfing Net learns he was allegedly abducted by mother
By Linda Massarella, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES "” Authorities have arrested the mother of a 17-year-old boy who saw his picture on a missing children's Web site and discovered that he had allegedly been abducted from Canada 14 years ago.
Acting on a Canadian-issued warrant, U.S. Marshalls arrested Giselle-Marie Goudreault, 45, at her home in the San Fernando Valley. She is being held without bail until Canadian authorities can extradite her on child abduction charges, authorities said. It wasn't immediately known when an extradition hearing will be held.
Goudreault, who works in administrative support services for the Los Angeles Unified School District "was shocked and very emotional" during Wednesday's arrest, said Jimell Griffin, a deputy U.S. Marshall in Los Angeles.
The teen, whose identity was not released by authorities, was immediately put in a foster home by the Department of Children and Family Services. A message left with the agency was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The boy spotted his own photo, taken when he was 3, on a Canadian missing children's Web site a few months ago and told a teacher about it, authorities said. The teacher contacted Los Angeles police, who confirmed the story with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Red Deer, authorities said.
The teen had been living with his father in Red Deer, Alberta when Goudreault allegedly abducted her child.
The teen's father had custody of his son at the time of the alleged incident.
Authorities believe Goudreault went on the lam because she lost custody of her son. After one court-ordered weekend visit, she never returned him to his father, Griffin said.
Goudreault initially took her son to live in Mexico, authorities said, and she moved to the Los Angeles area in 1995. She has been remarried twice.
"They were taking her child away and she did what she had to do," Melissa Goudreault, her sister-in-law, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday from her Red Deer home.
"The family is behind her and is trying to raise money for her legal defense," she said.
The boy's father, however, doesn't see it that way.
"I just think about him," the 43-year-old man told The Edmonton Sun. "A conversation with him is a long time overdue. It would be a relief to ask him if he's OK."
Griffin said although it was Goudreault's son who initiated contact with authorities, the youth was "upset" at his mother's arrest and made moves to comfort her while she was being led away.
Authorities here said the father has asked child services to release the teen to him.
"They were taking her child away and she did what she had to do," Melissa Goudreault, her sister-in-law, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday from her Red Deer home.
Oh, boo-hoo. She "did what she had to do" my a$$. I realize there could be more to this story, but unless there are extreme extenuating circumstances, she did the most selfish thing she could do. She deprived a father of his son and a son of his father for 14 years. Neither of them will ever get that time back. How very sad for both of them.
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I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know one time I secretly wanted to be a writer.---C.K. Dexter Haven
When a father abducts his child(ren) the courts do not cut them any slack when they are caught......nor should they cut her any slack! If a court-order is sufficient to deprive a father of his right's.......it's just as sufficient to deprive a mother of her's.....when it so decides. I can only assume the court had evidence it thought supported the father's custody case.
This is not in reply to anyone that has posted, (but rather the sister-in-law's comments)....only a statement of my beliefs on this subject.
I can only imagine fairly extreme circumstances that it wouldn't be in the child's best interest to have both parents love available......whenever that can be the case. Unfortunately especially in today's society....children frequently seem to be the last priority!
Dave
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You can live life, or simply grow old!
From what I know about child custody cases, the mother has to do something pretty extreme in order for the court to give custody of a 3 year old to the father and limited visitation to the mother.
The fact that she took him away from his father is just further proof IMO.
The key to this situation is, Who turned the mother in?? The son through his teacher.
That has to be the most telling part.
If she was a good loving mother one would think her son would confront her with the information and expect and answer from her. He either did not trust her, disliked or hated her or just wanted out like the three other men in her life since his birth. (Although she may have just married those guys to create a history or whatever.)
That didn't happen, the son trusting her. That has to tell you something.
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
As mentioned above its odd for the mother to lose custody of a child to the father, makes me wonder what she was into 14 years ago..... That is alot of time lost between the two, never knowing if his son was ok or not, hopefuly now they can have a relationship.
Boy Finds himself
