The Incredible Peter Thomas Senese - God Bless You Peter Thomas Senese!

It has been a while since I posted anything to the blog because we have been involved in trying to prevent my younger daughter's husband from abducting my two grandchildren to the Russia, where he is from, and unknown to my daughter, had every intent of returning there with the children without her permission or knowledge.

Our Family's Hero:

Thank God for Peter Thomas Senese, who came to our family's aid when my husband reached out to him, because without Mr. Senese and his insight and know-how, there is no question my two grandchildren would be gone and my daughter would have lost her children forever.

There is this phenomenon in the United States and elsewhere that is rapidly growing. It is called international parental child abduction, and it is a real threat to families not just in the United States, but abroad as well. In essence, a criminal act of illegally removing or detaining a child in a foreign country by one parent without permission of the other parent and in violation of court orders occurs. This is a federal criminal act, though it is rarely prosecuted. In many countries like Russia, there are no international treaties that exist between the U.S. and Russia that allow for a quick return of an abducted child such as the Hague Convention. And even when it does exist, say for example, with Mexico or Brazil, many countries to not uphold the international treaty they signed, and the vast majority of children never return home to their waiting families.

According to various reports issued by Peter Thomas Senese and the I CARE Foundation, America alone is at risk of having as many as 125,000 children internationally abducted over the next 10 years, with as little as 10% of them being returned. This is crazy! And I ask out loud, 'Why are we not really doing something about it?!"

Preventing an abduction from occurring is critical. If you do not prevent an abduciton, then in all likely you will never see your stolen children again.

God delivered to our doorstep a warrior-angel, and this angel came in the name of Peter Thomas Senese, who uncovered the abduction scheme and held my daughter's attorney's hand as a carefully put together legal strategy was created that uncovered my ex son-in-laws evil intent.

It is incredible to have learned that the planned abduction of my grandchildren occurred well over a year before the plan was intended to be sprung. A year!

To the common eye, the events and circumstances would not have appeared to be anything unusual unless you know the warning signs of abduction, and know how to prove it.  In my daughter's case, they were all there, but we did not see any of it.

However, one man did, and that was best-selling author Peter Thomas Senese, who has become one of our nation's children's best friends. Mr. Senese has dedicated himself and his resources to helping families like my own by creating the most extensive amount of information that can help prevent an abdcution from occurring. He has written extensively on the subject, having two books published, incluidng 'The World Turned Upside Down' and a fantastic novel on the subject called 'Chasing The Cyclone'. And his I CARE Foundation is building a network of lawyer who work to help for free or at a deep discount, families who have their children targeted for abduction.

My family and I can't thank Peter Thomas Senese for coming to the grandchildren's defense. Without him, we would have never come to realize that my daughter's ex had obtained passports for the children from Russia a few months ago. We would have never thought to track down money moving out of the country via pre-paid cash cards. We would have never thought to look at my daughter's ex passport - to find out that his supposed two recent trips to Mexico and St. Barts were actually trips to Moscow! And we would have never known about or been able to utilize the prevent departure program if it were not for Peter Thomas Senese. And on top of his knowledge and direction to our family and my daughter's lawyer, when it came time for the court trial - who showed up? No other than Peter Thomas Senese - who not only IS the reason why later today, I am taking my grandchildren for a big brunch and going to the zoo - but incredibly, he asked for nothing. He simply said he was happy to help because children should not be abducted, and to "pay it forward with love." What an incredible idea.

So, I would like to share my message to you Mr. Senese:

You are our families hero.
You saved the day when storms were about to destroy our family apart.
You protected little girls who did not know they were about to be kidnapped.
You did what you said you were going to do.
And you asked for nothing - ever - in return.
You came into our family's life as one of God's Angels.
Unselfish, Compassionate, and Strong.
We can never repay you for what you did.
And when we offered to compensate you for the incredible feat of protecting our family's youngest -
You laughed at us - never taking a penny - and then had the audacity to even by us lunch!
Peter Thomas Senese -
You are a hero to many.
Including our family.
God bless you, Mr. Senese.
Really - May God bless you Mr. Senese for all the good you do and all the good you did for us.

Author Peter Thomas Senese: A Creative Writer . . . An Extraordinary Parent

Chasing the Cyclone author Peter Thomas Senese: Overcoming International Parental Child Abduction

Peter Thomas Senese is an author who has created a very impressive collection of historical fiction thrillers that range in subject matter to include theology, science and genomics, international banking, and geopolitics. However, nothing could have prepared the rising writer to stare down a nightmare most parents (or grandparents) would care not to think about. But that's exactly what the Mr. Senese did: he stared down a destructive cyclone and stood until its storm faded.

Chasing The Cyclone 

According to the United States Department of State and the Canadian Ministry of Attorney General, in 2006, best-selling writer Peter Thomas Senese had his child criminally internationally abducted by the child's other parent and taken to the other side of the world. After nearly two year of expensive international litigation that took place in multiple countries, Peter Senese did something that few parents targeted for abduction accomplish: he reunited with his child. Today, the father and child live a happy existence free of the storms that once covered their lives. According to court documents, the abduction scheme Senese encountered would shock even the most knowledgeable of legal professionals.

Chasing The Cyclone

Peter Thomas Senese, child activist and author of the novel inspired by his experience as a left behind parent, titled "Chasing The Cyclone" shares in a spectacular and thrilling detail the emotional agony any parent faces when trying to reunite with an abducted child. In his own words, Senese went through "A living hell to get my child back, a hell that thousands of other caring parents tragically experience each year."

One of the many things that differentiates this story is Peter Senese's commitment to raise awareness of IPCA after the fact he reunited with his child. In the aftermath of a nightmare most of us cannot imagine, Senese has become a vocal advocate acting to raise awareness of child abduction while also creating a vast arsenal of information and resources, including a series of widely published treatises, and an educational documentary film series on IPCA, that will help others facing the challenges of abduction.

Peter Senese's overwhelming success before the international courts during his child's abduction combined with the substantial advocacy for children tells a story of a unique, caring individual who wears his heart on his sleeve, and who is willing to stand for issues he believes in.

Tragically, the vast majority of international abduction stories end with children never returning home. Thousands of cases occur in parental child abduction in the United States alone each year. Unthinkably, there is very little support for parents who have their child abducted by another parent even though current laws criminalizing this behavior can be found on both the state and federal levels. And to add grief to the grave, the entire financial burden for recovery is placed on the shoulders of the targeted parent. As easily imagined, this is a serious issue.

The Abductor's Defense: Slander The Left Behind Parent Under Article 13(b) Of The Hague.

One additional distinct problem is the use of slander and defamation of their character by the abducting parent. This is done typically so that the crime-committing abductor can take advantage of a loophole in international law found under Section 13(b) of the Hague Convention On The Civil Aspects Of International Parental Child Abduction. Under 13(b) the international courts bound by the Hague Convention can deny a child's return to the other parent if they believe that the child would be put in grave risk. In fact, Section 13(b) is known as the 'grave risk clause', and Peter Thomas Senese was not immune to having his character falsely attacked during the time of his child's abduction by the abducting parent.

It is not, nor should it be viewed lightly that in the middle of a substantial legal battle that is seldom won by a Chasing Parent, one that included defamatory and slanderous attacks on his character, the international courts fully sided with Peter Thomas Senese and cited that the abducting party had wrongfully attempted to smear the author's name in order to gain favor before the court. Senese commented, "It was awful to have untruthful comments appear out of nowhere and from sources I did not know. Ironically, we traced the vast majority of the negative comments back to the abduction litigation. Fortunately, and with undeniable evidence, the international court and its judges realized that the slander was an attempt to sanction the wrongful act of abduction. I am very thankful that the court realized what had occurred against me and acted accordingly." Apparently, attacks by an abducting parent against left-behind parents are common.

Alarmingly, a child of abduction is a victim of abuse and neglect, as reported by leading researches who specialize in IPCA. When a parent uses a child to hurt the other parent, or when that same parent manipulates a child into thinking that the other parent does not care about them or denies access and communication, then that parent is denying the child their inalienable right to know and love the other parent.

It would be of no shock to share that most targeted parents who have reunited with their child desire not to have the abducting parent actively part of the child's life. However, as Senese points out, "It is my child's right to know and feel the love of both of his parents. And it is my responsibility, to the best of my ability, to make sure that happens for him ... Sometimes it is understandably easy for a targeted parent to forget what they were really fighting for, and that is their child's rights, then their rights, too."

International Parental Child Abduction

There are several things that are clear about IPCA, including the existence of a very severe problem in this country. Additionally, it many laws created to protect our nation's children are outdated or not enforced, leading to an increase in abductions. Fortunately, new abduction prevention laws such as the Florida Child Abduction Prevention Act that Senese advocated for are being created, as too is new research in this area. In fact, Peter Thomas Senese and Carolyn Vlk recently published two revealing reports: 'Crisis In America: International Parental Child Abduction Today In America' and  'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere'. 'Crisis In America' appears to be the most accurate overview on IPCA, and respectively, 'International Child Abduction and Human Trafficking' is an jaw-dropping expose on the administration's policy black hole for U.S. abduction. Peter Thomas Senese commented, "Hopefully with the findings of the recent report Ms. Vlk and I released, we will be able to amend existing laws that may facilitate child abduction." Supporting his activism in child abuction prevention, Senese wrote, narrated, and produced a ten-segment long educational documentary titled 'Chasing Parents' that offers both practical advise for all concerned with child abduction while also making it clear what changes are mandatory in order to assist children from such a terrifying ordeal.

With dedicated and committed individuals like Peter Thomas Senese trying to make a difference in the IPCA arena, there is optimism that change is at hand, and perhaps one day soon the number of criminal child abductions that occur each year will be dramatically reduced. Surely, our child-citizens have a right to be safe.

Peter Thomas Senese is the author of such hit thrillers including 'Cloning Christ', 'The Den Of The Assassin', and the upcoming powerfully gripping 'Chasing The Cyclone'.

For more information on Peter Senese, please visit www.petersenese.com or www.chasingthecyclone.com