April 28, 2013
Source: CRN Japan
In the early morning hours of December 21st 2012, Mr. Monty Alan Scott Montelius, a banker by trade, quietly slipped out the back door of his family home . He headed to the airport with his two year old son in tow. They boarded a Japan Airlines flight destined for Tokyo, Japan. The two had been expected in Norway for the Christmas holiday. They never arrived. Mr. Montelius had decided that Japan could provide him with the support needed to disappear with his child.
‘First world nation’ Japan, long known as a ‘Haven for Parental Abduction’ is not signatory to The Hague Convention on the Protection against International Parental Abduction. Mr. Montelius, convinced that he could get away with this form of child abuse was in for a rude awakening. In less than three weeks, his actions would put him in direct opposition with recovery agents from ABP World Group, a world renowned company that assists parents in recovering their children after familial abductions.
On December 24th, 2012, after her child had been missing for almost a week, the mother contacted Martin Waage of the European security firm, who, with the assistance of Eric Kalmus, Director of The Japan Children’s Rights Network and A Place to Start helped her decide on upon the best course of action. The first step was to involve the Swedish authorities and Interpol. The removal of a child from his home is considered illegal under Sweden’s family law system.
Interpol contacted the Japanese authorities in Tokyo to request support in returning the child to his mother in Sweden. Things were stymied after Japanese authorities brought Mr. Montelius into the Akasaka Koban police station. Japanese Police questioned the abductor and soon decided that he had not broken any laws in Japan. The Japanese ‘legal system’ doesn’t consider parental abduction a crime.
The police allowed Monty to leave despite the request for assistance from the International foreign authorities. Monty had informed the Japanese Police that he was looking forward to a long life in their wonderful county and he couldn’t imagine returning to a place as inhospitable as Sweden.
Monty’s long-time banking industry career as an employee for DnB Nor Bank ASA Norway, Sweden Branch, had allowed him to accumulate a rather large sum of money and a large roster of active clients. This created a false sense of security which eventually led to his demise. Monty feeling untouchable, soon began writing to the child’s mother professing his wish to remain in Japan, “for the child’s sake.”
Unbeknownst to Mr. Montelius, ABP World Group and Swedish Authorities were able to pinpoint his location through this continued online contact as well as his other actions. Private investigators employed by the security firm began to stake out locations in the center of Tokyo. Within days they discovered that the father and child made daily visits to Hinokicho park in Roppongi. Meanwhile, the child’s mother had been granted full custody. Their daily park visits presented the perfect opportunity to stage a recovery by the mother.
“When a child is illegally taken to a country such as Japan, time is not on your side” says Eric Kalmus. “The longer a child is away from their home state the more difficult it becomes to reintegrate them and return to some form of normality.” Knowing this, ABP wasted no time in locating and taking the needed steps to secure the child’s safe return. “It is a gross misconception to believe that a child abducted by a parent is in any way safe.” shared Mr. Waage.
Top agents for ABP traveled to Tokyo with the child’s mother with a plan to save the child from further trauma caused by the loss of all he had known. Just days after their arrival, while staking out Hinokicho, the child’s mother spotted Mr. Montelius entering the park with the child. Agents decided to immediately put their plan into action.
Exiting their stakeout vehicle, the mother, her attorney and ABP’s agents approached the child. Agents made chase as Monty attempted to escape with the child, but he was quickly subdued. Bystanders stepped in and assisted the agents and mother in detaining Monty. Mother and child were reunited.
Soon after the agents assessed the child’s health and confirmed he was unharmed, ABP escorted the mother and child to the Norwegian embassy. They remained in the embassy until paperwork was prepared for their immediate departure. With assistance from their Japanese attorney, mother and child quickly boarded a flight home after a short stopover in the middle east.
Within days Mr. Monty Alan Scott Montelius returned to Norway and was swiftly taken into custody. He is now on suicide watch in a maximum security prison after being extradited back to Sweden. Risking four years in prison, he continues to deny any guilt.
Mother and child are currently back home happily trying to move forward with their lives.
Link to the Norwegian news article: VG Nett
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