Nathalie Gettliffe Spends Mother's Day Behind Bars

Mother’s Day spent behind bars
The Leader, Canada
By Dan Ferguson Staff Reporter May 14 2006

A pregnant woman arrested for abducting her own children from Surrey to France will spend Mother’s Day in a B.C. jail, a Richmond Provincial Court judge ruled Thursday.

In denying Nathalie Gettliffe’s bail application, Judge Margaret Rae said Gettliffe has refused to return her son and daughter to the custody of their father, Surrey resident Scott Grant, despite repeated orders by courts in Canada and France. While Gettliffe, who is five months pregnant, offered to post bail and even wear an electronic monitor, the judge said the woman has nothing to keep her in Canada and every reason to return to France.

Ex-husband Grant was pleased. "I’m ecstatic that the court saw through all the lies," Grant said. He was talking about French news coverage of the case, some of it generated by Gettliffe’s French boyfriend, Francis Gruzelle, a journalist who has written several stories accusing Grant of belonging to a cult. Grant, a financial consultant who belongs to a fundamentalist church, has repeatedly denied the claims.

Gruzelle was the reporter who wrote the first stories about the international custody fight shortly after Gettliffe left Surrey with her son and daughter for France in 2001. During a 2004 interview with The Leader, Gettliffe denied that she was romantically involved with Gruzelle, saying he was only a friend who was sympathetic because he had lost his wife to a cult.

However, recent French news reports describe Gruzelle as Gettliffe’s companion and father to a nine-month-old son with her as well as her unborn child. Gruzelle’s ex-wife recently came forward to describe Gruzelle as an embittered former spouse who accused her unsuccessfully of cult involvement during a custody fight.

Some French news reports have also referred to complaints by Gruzelle and Gettliffe that a relative of Grant’s was handling her prosecution. Grant said his mother’s common-law husband happens to be a Crown prosecutor who is not involved with the case in any way.

A specially appointed independent prosecutor has been handling the matter. In a French-language television interview following the Richmond ruling, Gruzelle expressed outrage, saying that keeping his pregnant girlfriend in jail could lead to a miscarriage.

He also repeated claims that Getliffe had come to Canada for a mediation meeting with her husband, something Grant says isn’t true. He maintained he only learned that Gettliffe was returning to Canada when he performed a Google search and stumbled across a University of B.C. website that revealed she would be appearing before an examination panel of professors at the university to complete her Canadian Ph.D.

Grant alerted authorities, who arrested Gettliffe on arrival and charged her with abduction in contravention of a custody order. Her next court appearance is set for July.

Surrey Leader.com

Technorati Profile

Look at the Corruption Inside the Judiciary - USA - Case 1

Feds investigate child porn on P2P networks - 65 arrests, 1,000 cases
announced 5/14/04 AP Washington "A nationwide probe into child
pornography trafficking using Internet file-sharing networks has
resulted in 1,000 investigations and at least 65 arrests, federal
officials announced Friday. The broader investigation centers on the
growing use of "peer-to-peer," or P2P, networks that allow users to
connect computers directly with one another to exchange files
rather than using traditional Internet servers that are easier
to track."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4980441/

this one paragraph fwd from L Moss Sharman More details in
pornography case -

Responding to a motion by Stephen W. Thompson's lawyers, a U.S.
prosecutor defended the seizure of a "monstrous" cache from the
EX-JUDGE'S Shore home. By John Shiffman Inquirer Staff Writer
5/13/04 Camden

"A federal prosecutor said yesterday that a "monstrous collection" of
child pornography kept by a former state Superior Court judge had been
lawfully seized from his Shore home. In a legal filing, the prosecutor
said Stephen W. Thompson's cache of child pornography included
"thousands of images of naked or partially naked children engaged in
sexually explicit conduct." At one point, the judge kept 20 such images
on the laptop computer he used on the bench in Camden County, according
to Assistant U.S. Attorney Diana Carrig. From the desktop in his
chambers, Carrig said, Thompson e-mailed a Web site that sold child
pornography and downloaded information from a "travel sex guide" site.

Thompson is charged with possession of child pornography and traveling
to Russia to videotape himself having sex with a teenage boy."

Men Who Lead Two Lives....Another Look At the Corruption

Submitted by Lynne Moss-Sharman:
Los Angeles Times, Gayle Pollard Terry
April 18, 2004

Secrets in Bakersfield - Rumors of a powerful cabal were whispered for years. Then the local newspaper investigated. By Gayle Pollard-Terry, Times Staff Writer 1/27/03

" "For more than a generation," the story said, "Bakersfield was run by a cadre of men who led double lives. To the public, these men were members of the community's most visible institutions, its justice system and the media. "But in truth ... these men -- a sprinkling of county executives, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, even the newspaper's publisher -- were part of a loose-knit, secretive network. "Some were homosexuals who preyed upon young men and boys, then used their positions of power and influence to protect one another from possible ramifications.

Occasionally, however, the preyed-upon lashed out, leading to a string of murders involving young gay men and their prominent older male suitors." In the late 1970s and '80s, the victims included two millionaires, one of whom was on a county crime commission; the Kern County personnel director; the owner of a fashionable hair salon; and a 14-year-old girl who attended parties thrown by Bakersfield's one-time police commissioner, who committed suicide after being charged with providing marijuana to minors. With the exception of the girl, whose case was never solved, the murders were committed by teenage or young adult men who said they had had sexual relationships with the victims."

http://www.calendarlive.com/cl-et-gayle27jan27.story
latimes.com

AND ANOTHER ARTICLE:

Judge won't let convicted Bakersfield child molester post bail
by Brian Skoloff, AP Writer 3/15/04

"In Bakersfield alone, 46 people were arrested in eight alleged child molestation rings. Thirty were convicted, eight had their charges dropped and eight struck plea deals that kept them from prison. Twenty two of the 30 convictions were later reversed for reasons including legal technicalities, prosecutorial misconduct or faulty jury instructions."

Link (copy and paste):
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/
2004/03/15/state1714EST0111.DTL

AND MORE:

two fwds from L Moss Sharman - Child Porn Hearing Opens - South County husband and wife are accused of 90 felony counts each, including videotaping and molesting a 5-year-old girl. By Mai Tran 4/9/04 "The videotape gave authorities a roadmap that led to a locked chest stored in a bedroom closet of the couple's home containing 216 videotapes and CDs, many of them depicting the couple having sex with children, investigators said. Investigators said they did not know who sent them the tape or who had the access or time to record snippets from so many movies. Thursday's testimony offered a first glimpse into the case against David Hwang, 31, and his wife, Sheila Sikat, 23. The hearing, which was continued until April 20, will determine whether the couple should stand trial. Orange County sheriff's investigators contend the tapes and CDs reveal six children being molested."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-molest9apr09,1,3749389.story?c oll=la-headlines-california

Man accused of killing family members had mass suicide plan Brian Skoloff, 4/8/04 AP "Marcus Wesson devised a plan nearly a decade ago for his children to kill themselves if authorities came to retrieve the clan, according to a police detective testifying at a preliminary hearing on charges Wesson murdered nine of his kids. Wesson maintained strict control over his many children and would inflict "weeklong spankings" if they broke his rules, which included *NOT* talking to men outside of the family, Fresno homicide detective Carlos Leal testified that one of Wesson's adult daughters told him. The 20-year-old girl said the family was forced to study the King James Bible twice a day and listen to Wesson preach, Leal said, adding that she claimed Wesson began molesting her and her sisters when they were as young as 5."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/04/0 8/state1703EDT0122.DTL

>From American Journal of Public Health - The Economic Burden of Hospitalization Associated With Child Abuse and Neglect Posted 04/02/2004 Sue Rovi, PhD; Ping-Hsin Chen, PhD; Mark S. Johnson, MD, MPH Abstract and Introduction Abstract Objectives: This study assessed the economic burden of child abuse-related hospitalizations. Methods: We compared inpatient stays coded with a diagnosis of child abuse or neglect with stays of other hospitalized children using the 1999 National Inpatient Sample of the Healthcare Costs and Utilization Project. Results: Children whose hospital stays were coded with a diagnosis of abuse or neglect were significantly more likely to have died during hospitalization (4.0% vs 0.5%), have longer stays (8.2 vs 4.0 days), twice the number of diagnoses (6.3 vs 2.8), and double the total charges ($19266 vs $9513) than were other hospitalized children. Furthermore, the primary payer was typically Medicaid (66.5% vs 37.0%)." http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/472527

ABUSERS KEEP CUSTODY OF THEIR VICTIMS 70% OF THE TIME:

When Children Tell And No One Listens - October 1997 - By Sherry A. Quirk, Esq. "...some of the worst cases are those where authorities were notified of abuse and had determined that the child was at risk, but nevertheless left the child in the care of the abuser....Studies show that batterers have been able to convince authorities that the victim is unfit or undeserving of sole custody in approximately 70% of challenged cases." http://www.yesican.org/articles/childrentell.html

When Children Tell and No One Listens

When Children Tell And No One Listens
October 1997

By Sherry A. Quirk, Esq.

Bio: Sherry A. Quirk, Esq., is a member of the firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand. Ms. Quirk practices extensively in the legislative and administrative areas, and over the past several years has devoted significant time and effort to the issue of sexual abuse of children.

In 1992, Ms. Quirk also established and continues to supervise Verner Liipfert's pro bono project on behalf of victims of childhood sexual abuse. She is the President and co-founder of One Voice: the National Alliance of Abuse Awareness and its public policy project, the American Coalition for Abuse Awareness.

One Voice, a 501 © (3) entity, is a national alliance of adult survivors and child victims of sexual abuse, their supporters, child advocacy organizations, non-offending parents, health care and legal professionals who are seeking to improve the quality of life for children and adult survivors of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. One Voice is active in educating the public, the national media and our members of congress on preventing the victimization of children, supporting the right of victims to seek redress through the courts and assuring access to appropriate treatment for victims of abuse. Ms. Quirk can be reached by e-mail at ACAADC@aol.com

- - - - - - -

Americans are more aware than ever of the tragedy of child abuse: our national and local media carry daily reports of children who have been beaten, imprisoned, starved, burned or sexually and emotionally abused. Shopping carts, milk cartons, billboards, newspapers all carry the message that children should tell if they are being hurt and that to prevent abuse, just call a hotline and help will arrive.

However, we are slowly awakening to the fact that, even if suspected abuse is reported, this does not always result in safeguarding the child from further abuse. In fact, some of the worst cases are those where authorities were notified of abuse and had determined that the child was at risk, but nevertheless left the child in the care of the abuser. We are also learning that not only the woman who flees domestic violence is at risk from further violence, but that her children are often the innocent witnesses to her being battered -- or additional victims. And in far too many cases, the batterer has not only revenges himself on his former partner, but hurts or kills the children as well.

But there is an aspect to this violence in the family which so far has escaped the public's attention: the granting of sole custody or unsupervised access to the batterer or child abuser. According to the American Judges Foundation, "One of the most common reasons given for resuming an abusive relationship is the fear that the abuser will act on the threats of taking the children from the victim. Studies show that batterers have been able to convince authorities that the victim is unfit or undeserving of sole custody in approximately 70% of challenged cases."

The idea that batterers and child abusers are awarded sole custody even when there has been a domestic violence conviction or reliable evidence of sexual abuse may seem so bizarre as to be unbelievable to most Americans. Even those who have experienced this admit that they never would have believed it possible until it happened to them. They thought that if their child made an outcry, help would be there for them. They thought that judges would look at a history of domestic violence, weigh the medical evidence, listen to the words of their children, and choose to protect the child. Instead, as the American Psychological Association states in its report on Violence in the Family (1996), "Family courts frequently minimize the harmful impact of children's witnessing violence between their parents and sometimes are reluctant to believe mothers…Some professionals assume that accusations of physical or sexual abuse of children that arise during divorce or custody disputes are likely to be false, but the empirical research to date shows no such increase in false reporting at that time. In many instances, children are frightened about being alone with a father they have seen use violence towards their mother or a father who has abused them. Sometimes children make it clear to the court that they wish to remain with the mother because they are afraid of the father, but their wishes are ignored."

Fathers, too, sometimes find themselves caught in the gears of the court when they report abuse their children have disclosed at the hands of stepfathers or their mother's boyfriend. These mothers are at times more interested in protecting their partner than safeguarding their children. Such cases underscore the importance of having the best interest of the child at heart, and that the protection of the child should be the goal of our child protection system. It goes without saying that each case must be judged on its own merits.

As far as we know, no one has addressed the long term affects of this betrayal upon children who told about being abused but were silenced or ignored by the judicial system and given into the hands of those who had abused and violated them. Susan Smith is an anecdotal example: a mother who, as a young teenager reported abuse by her stepfather, received no help, and proceeded to murder her own children. Told that the court would protect them from the abuser, how can abused children then believe that they deserve help and protection? And as Randy Burton, Esq., of Justice for Children has remarked, "The public's perception of widespread abuses in the family courts has created a crisis in confidence in the judicial system in general."



Please join us in drawing attention to the re-victimization of children through a court system which allows batterers and child abusers to have unrestricted access to children. Let your state and national representatives know about this grave problem and educate your local and national press.