The goal of ABP World Group international child recovery services is to locate, negotiate and recover your missing child.
We can dispatch personnel to most locations in the world; we specialize in locating missing children up to ages 18.
A Place To Start
A Place to Start, consults with parents of parentally abducted children and assists in making choices to help bring your child home while protecting your financial future from fraud.
ABP World Group Ltd. Web site
We are aware that parental child abduction can be difficult to resolve, but through the use of professional operatives with the skills and expertise necessary we work to find a resolution. We are here to help you.
Child Recovery Services
Our intelligence and investigative capabilities combined with our ability to dispatch personnel to most locations in the world offer a safe and strategic solution to protecting what is most important to you : your child.
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Tema vedr. fedres rettsstilling, foreldrepermisjon og ulike barnelovsspørsmål
The Japan Children`s Rights Network
Our Mission is to to disseminate information to help change attitudes and laws in Japan in order to assure all children of frequent, meaningful and continuing contact with both natural parents, regardless of citizenship, marital status or gender.
Tiger Kidnapping is an extremely stressful crime whereby criminals abduct a member of staff’s family (often a child) and threaten them with harm unless the employee attends their work place, removes a large sum of money then delivers it into the hands of the criminal.
It’s called ‘Tiger Kidnapping’ because of the way the criminals stalk their victims for some considerable amount of time before the kidnap attack and robbery takes place.
Tiger Kipnapping occurs frequently in Europe
here has also been an increase in Tiger Kidnap offences in England, Scotland and Wales, with some high profile cases attracting media attention because of the scale of loss.
To fully understand the methods and impact on the victims, it’s worth looking at these cases as reported in the media:-
Three areas you may choose to cover off to prevent Tiger Kidnapping are:-
Physical Security - Use of Drop Safes means that no one person has access to to the cash at any one time. Use time locks on the outer safe. Ensure good CCTV covers cash holding areas, and this is monitored for signs of unusual activity.
Adequate Processes and Procedures - Make it impossible for one single person on their own to access cash (dual key doors etc). Strictly enforce access and key controls, and ensure segregation of duties. E.g Store Keyholders don’t have access to the safe. Severely restrict the number of employees who can access cash areas. Have cash operation confidentiality policies backed by disciplinary action.
Situational Awareness - Potentially vulnerable staff and managers are made aware of Tiger Kidnapping, how to spot the likely surveillance which precedes it, and action to take if they see suspicious activity.
The above is intended as a very basic guide. For far more detailed advice and research see the resources below.
A woman who abducted her baby daughter and kept her from the father for 18 years avoids jail because of “unique circumstances” — and the dad’s request.
Patricia O’Byrne leaves College Park court after being sentenced to house arrest for abducting her child and keeping her away from the father for 18 years.
Patricia O’Byrne will serve her time, less 48 days of credit for pre-trial custody, at her home in Victoria, B.C., followed by two years’ probation.
Normally, parents abducting their children should get “real jail” to denounce their conduct and deter others, Justice Mara Greene said at College Park provincial court Tuesday.
“However, the case at bar has some unique mitigating factors,” the judge added.
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“Ms O’Byrne acted in a way that she thought was in the best interest of her child. She was frantic and fearful for her child’s safety when she was not with her. These thoughts ultimately led her to abduct her child.”
Secondly, there is a clear link between the abuse she suffered as a child and the initial commission of the offence, Greene said.
“I appreciate that this does not explain why Ms O’Byrne kept (her daughter) away from her father for 18 years. At some point, the abduction became less about Ms O’Byrne’s concern for the safety of her child and more about protecting herself from detection and prosecution.”
But the judge noted that O’Byrne has pleaded guilty and taken full responsibility.
In addition, O’Byrne’s daughter and father, Joe Chisholm, wrote statements that said jailing her will only exacerbate the harm already done.
Neither father nor daughter was in court for the sentencing.
O’Byrne, 55, refused to speak to reporters as she left.
But her lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, said the former Toronto woman is grateful for the judge’s decision.
The 21-year-old daughter, who cannot be identified, is also thankful her mother is spared jail, Greenspan said.
Daughter and father are developing a relationship, Greenspan added. “There is a hope for rebuilding and moving forward.”
Crown prosecutor Michael Callaghan had sought a sentence of 15 to 18 months in jail, followed by probation. He had no comment afterward.
O’Byrne mistrusted men because of the sexual abuse she suffered as a child and physical abuse she witnessed her mother experience, the judge noted.
“She was convinced, albeit wrongly, that Mr. Chisholm was putting her daughter at risk by using male babysitters,” Greene said.
Under a May 10, 1993, settlement, the daughter was to primarily live with O’Byrne, but Chisholm was granted access. But within weeks, O’Byrne and their daughter disappeared.
Over the years, Chisholm worked tirelessly to locate his girl, registering her with Child Find. Police issued a Canada-wide warrant for O’Byrne’s arrest.
Mother and daughter lived in Ireland for a time, moving to B.C. 10 years ago. There O’Byrne worked for the government and did volunteer work.
“Ms O’Byrne appears to have led a productive life and been a wonderful mother. I hesitate to refer to her existence as pro-social, however, as she spent the past 18 years living under a false identity and continued to be in breach of a court order.”
On Oct. 4, 2011, police got an anonymous tip she was living in Victoria under an assumed name. They arrested her on Dec. 1, 2011.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday that Tokyo would join a treaty on child abductions, addressing a major concern for lawmakers in Washington.
Japan is the only member of the Group of Eight major industrialized nations that has not signed the 1980 Hague Convention, which requires nations to return snatched children to the countries where they usually reside.
“From the perspective of children, there is an increasing number of international marriages, meaning that there will be some cases where marriages will break down. Therefore we believe it is important to have international rules,” Abe told reporters after talks with Obama.
“We will make efforts in the Diet so that the Convention can be approved. I delivered this message to the president,” Abe told reporters after his meeting with Obama.
However, Abe did not set a timeframe. The previous DPJ government also said it wanted to enter the treaty but did not move ratification through the Diet.
Unlike Western nations, Japan does not recognize joint custody and courts almost always order that children of divorcees live with their mothers.
Hundreds of parents, mostly men, from the United States and elsewhere have been left without any recourse after their estranged partners take their half-Japanese children back to the country.
U.S. lawmakers have repeatedly demanded action from Japan on child abductions, one of the few open disputes between the close allies.
Unreported cases of abduction are forecasted to be between 100% and 125% of reported cases. These cases continue to increase due to a flux of immigration migration and both documented (legal) and undocumented (illegal) residents not being aware that they can turn to their government for assistance.
New figures reveal that the number of parental child abduction cases dealt with by the Foreign Office has risen by 88% in under a decade.
In the last year alone the Foreign Office’s Child Abduction Section fielded an average of four calls per day to its specialist advice line, more than half of which were new cases .
The Foreign Office says that that the statistics could be just the tip of the iceberg because many cases go unreported as parents seek custody of their children through foreign courts.
Research commissioned by the Foreign Office shows that half the UK population believes the government can intervene to order the return of a child to the UK if he or she has been abducted by a parent. However, the reality is that whilst help is available, parental child abduction cases can take years to resolve.
Japan’s foreign minister said Friday that the new government would sign a treaty on child abductions, addressing one of the few rifts in relations with its main ally the United States.
Japan has not signed or ratified the 1980 Hague Convention, which requires the return of wrongfully held children to the countries where they usually live, but a previous left-leaning government had said it planned to do so.
Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, whose conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power last month, said on a visit to Washington that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government would take the same stance.
“The government of Japan is intending to go through the necessary procedures for early signing of the treaty,” Kishida told a news conference with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Clinton said she hoped that Japan’s parliament would pass legislation on the Hague treaty during its upcoming session.
Japanese courts virtually never grant custody to foreign parents or to fathers, leaving few legal avenues for fathers whose former partners have fled to Japan with their children.
U.S. parents have pursued at least 120 cases in Japan to seek access to half-Japanese children, invariably to no avail. The U.S. Congress has repeatedly pressed Japan to take up the issue.
The previous Japanese government’s position had initially heartened U.S. officials, but their hopes dimmed as Tokyo delayed action on the Hague treaty and indicated that a ratification would only apply to future cases.
Japanese critics of the Hague convention have previously argued that the country needs to protect women from potentially abusive foreign men.
A NEW campaign highlighting a big rise in the number of children abducted and taken abroad by an estranged parent has been backed by Chamber members Ellis Jones Solicitors. A total of 512 cases involving 84 different countries were reported to British authorities in 2011/2012, according to data from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO). That compares with 272 in 51 countries in 2003/2004, an increase of 88 per cent in eight years.
It is illegal for a parent to take a child overseas without permission from others with parental responsibility. However 24 per cent of Britons are unaware it is a crime, according to separate FCO research. The research revealed that although 74 per cent of people thought fathers were most likely to abduct their children, statistics from the charity Reunite International suggested 70 per cent of their cases concerned mothers taking a child.
The FCO has now launched a national campaign to highlight the issue. Katie Taft, a solicitor with Ellis Jones who specialises in child abduction work, said the national increase in cases was borne out by her own experiences.
The Dorset and New Forest law firm is a member of the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit specialist panel and a recognised expert, regularly representing both mothers and fathers to secure the prompt return of their child or children.
Katie said: “We’ve seen an increased workload over the last few years which is to be expected given the rise in the number of families with parents who originate from different countries. Therefore, the latest FCO figures really come as no surprise. Currently we’re handing a number of cases of this nature across the South of England. “Child abduction causes a huge amount of distress and we welcome the FCO’s decision to launch a national campaign to highlight the issue.
“It’s important that this subject is kept in the public spotlight and that parents think twice before causing significant distress to their children, and other members of the family, by even contemplating abducting a child,” Katie added.
Parents, or those with parental responsibility, who fear their child has been or is at risk of being abducted can contact Katie or Sean McNally on 01202 636223. Alternatively the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit can be reached on 020 7911 7047/7045 from 10am to 4pm.
Angelika Werthmann zum Übereinkommen über die zivilrechtlichen Aspekte
(Aussprache) – 19.11.
Er hat seine eigenen vier Kinder entführt, weil er ihnen ein besseres Leben bieten will. Das beschauliche niedersächsische Hermannsburg war dem Christen Axel H. nicht gut genug – in Afrika will er sich ein neues Leben aufbauen. Die Geschichte einer außergewöhnlichen Radikalisierung.
Der Weg nach Hermannsburg führt durch endlos scheinende Alleen, unter wuchtigen Baumkronen hindurch, durch die sich die Junisonne zwängt. Vorbei an Kartoffelfeldern, Klatschmohn, kleinen Fachwerkhäusern und großen Bauernhöfen. Provinz in ihren schönsten Farben. Auf besprühten Bettlaken werden Scheunen- und Schützenfeste angekündigt. Man könnte sagen: Hier ist die Welt noch in Ordnung. Oder wie die Leute in der Lüneburger Heide sagen: “Wenn die Welt untergeht, geh’ nach Hermannsburg, da hast du 20 Jahre Zeit, um dich darauf vorzubereiten.”
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Von den 8000 Einwohnern der Gemeinde sind schätzungsweise 90 Prozent getauft und noch in derKirche. Sie besuchen regelmäßig die Gottesdienste, an Feiertagen bleiben nur wenige Reihen in den Gotteshäusern frei. Die Scheidungsrate ist niedriger als im Bundesdurchschnitt, die Geburtenrate höher. Der Glauben ist in der Gemeinde fest verankert.
Axel H. reichte das nicht. Der 37-Jährige, in Hermannsburg geboren und aufgewachsen, gilt als christlicher Fundamentalist. Er wollte seine vier Kinder in einem strengeren Glauben erziehen, entführte die beiden Jungen und Mädchen am Ostersonntag, flog mit ihnen zuerst nach Ägypten, reiste dann in den Sudan. 70 Prozent der Bevölkerung sind dort muslimisch, Christen werden verfolgt, nur im Süden lebt eine streng religiöse christliche Minderheit. Nach Axel H. wird mit internationalem Haftbefehl gefahndet.
Der Fall ist außergewöhnlich: Derzeit sind etwa 300 Kinder beim Bundeskriminalamt registriert, die von Vater oder Mutter ins Ausland entführt wurden. In allen Fällen ist das Zielland das Heimatland des jeweiligen Elternteils.
Außenminister Guido Westerwelle sagte am Freitag im südsudanesischen Dschuba, es gebe Hinweise, dass sich Axel H. inzwischen wieder in Ägypten befinde. Sein Amtskollege im Sudan, Ali Karti, habe ihm die volle Kooperation und Unterstützung der Behörden in dem Fall zugesagt.
Die Botschaft in Kairo sei eingeschaltet und stehe mit den dortigen Behörden in engem Kontakt, sagte eine Sprecherin des Auswärtigen Amtes. Man bemühe sich darum, die Kinder zurückzuholen.
Zu Hause in Hermannsburg wohnen seine von ihm getrennt lebende Frau, Mutter der vier Kinder, und seine Eltern – tief verzweifelt und voller Angst um Jonas, 8, Benjamin, 6, Mirjam, 5, und Lisa, 4.
Hans-Heinrich Heine steht ihnen zur Seite. Er ist seit acht Jahren Pastor der Großen Kreuzkirche in der Mitte Hermannsburgs, einer selbständigen Gemeinde des Kirchenbezirks Niedersachsen-West. Ein freundlicher Mann, 39 Jahre alt, der aus der Region stammt und auch Plattdeutsch sprechen kann. Er sitzt in seinem Arbeitszimmer in einem ehrwürdigen Fachwerkhaus, umgeben von Büchern und Ordnern. Die meisten seiner Gemeindemitglieder kennt er persönlich, ihre Sorgen, ihre Nöte, ihren Kummer.
Axel H. verbietet Gottesdienst, Chor, Kindergarten
Seit Wochen kommen immer wieder Kinder zum Pfarrhaus, drücken den Klingelknopf auf der blau-weißen Porzellankachel, auf der “Heine” steht. Es sind Freunde und Schulkameraden von Jonas, Benjamin, Mirjam und Lisa. In ihren kleinen Händen halten sie Münzen aus ihren Sparschweinen oder einen Fünf-Euro-Schein. Sie wollen sich an der Spendenaktion beteiligen, die die Suche nach den Kindern finanziell unterstützen sollwww.grossekreuz.de.
Pastor Heine lernt das Ehepaar H. kennen, als es seinen ersten Sohn Jonas taufen will. Er ist es gewohnt, dass Eltern ihre Kinder segnen lassen, ohne diesen Anlass zu hinterfragen. Bereits beim Taufgespräch mit Katja und Axel H. fällt ihm daher auf, dass der Vater diesen Schritt sehr ernst nimmt, er viele theologische Fragen stellt, sich mit dem Thema Glaube und Gott intensiv beschäftigt hat.
Eineinhalb Jahre später soll Benjamin, der zweite Sohn, getauft werden. Axel H. hat sich verändert, seine Zweifel an der lutherischen Theologie sind noch größer geworden. “Man merkte bei ihm schon sehr deutliche Vorbehalte gegenüber der Kindtaufe”, erinnert sich Heine. Axel H. habe sich diskussionsfreudig gezeigt, nicht in unangenehmer Weise, aber hartnäckig. Benjamin wird trotzdem getauft.
Doch Axel H. kapselt sich ab, meidet den Gottesdienst. Wenn er in Kontakt tritt mit Pastor Heine, dann nur um intensive theologische Streitgespräche zu führen. Den anderen Kirchgängern wirft er Heuchelei vor.
Er schreibt Briefe, übt scharfe Kritik an der Kirche. Irgendwann antwortet ihm Heine nicht mehr. 2005 landet auf seinem Schreibtisch der schriftliche Kirchenaustritt des Familienvaters.
“Aus seiner Sicht war dieser Schritt nur die logische Konsequenz zum Ende der Debatte”, sagt Pastor Heine. “Axel H. hat sich mit der Kirche nicht mehr identifiziert. Jede Form von institutioneller Kirche war ihm ein Übel.” Seine beiden Töchter, die kurz hintereinander geboren werden, lässt er nicht mehr taufen, obwohl es ein Herzenswunsch seiner Ehefrau ist.
Wie kam er an die Pässe, Geburtsurkunden und Sparbücher?
Die Ehe beginnt zu kriseln. Axel H. entwickelt regelrechte Wahnvorstellungen, zitiert Bibelstellen, die er jedoch aus dem Kontext gerissen hat, und verbietet seinen Eltern, mit den Enkeln in den Kindergottesdienst zu gehen. Seiner Frau untersagt er, die Kinder in den Chor oder den evangelischen Kindergarten gehen zu lassen. Alles, was mit der Kirche zu tun hat, duldet er nicht. Katja H. fügt sich, sie will ihre Ehe retten.
Es gelingt ihr nicht. Im Jahr 2007 zieht Axel H. weg aus Hermannsburg, er verschwindet regelrecht von der Bildfläche, verliert seinen Job als Krankenpfleger. Aufgrund seiner fanatischen Tendenzen darf er seine Kinder nur unter Aufsicht eines Jugendamtsmitarbeiters sehen. Doch auch der kann nicht verhindern, dass er die Kinder verunsichert. Oft kehren sie regelrecht konfus zu ihrer Mutter zurück.
Axel H. hält sich mit Aushilfsjobs über Wasser, verbreitet seine radikalen Ansichten im Internet – und muss gleichzeitig den Plan geschmiedet haben, seine Kinder zu entführen. Teil des Plans muss gewesen sein, sich im Umgang mit den Kindern so zu verändern, dass bei Treffen keine Mitarbeiter des Jugendamtes mehr dabei sein müssen. Wie er das anstellte, dazu wollen die Ermittler nichts sagen.
Am Ostersonntag holt Axel H. seine Kinder zu einer Fahrradtour ab. Allein radelt er mit ihnen über die Felder zu einem Auto, fährt zum Flughafen Hannover und fliegt nach Ägypten.
Katja H. wird später sagen, sie habe ein merkwürdiges Gefühl gehabt, als er mit den Kindern losgefahren sei. Warum hat sie ihn fahren lassen? Wie kam er an die Pässe, die Geburtsurkunden, die Sparbücher?
“Katja hat sie ihm sicher nicht freiwillig gegeben”, sagt Pastor Heine. Auch die Ermittler vermuten, dass er die Papiere bereits bei Besuchen in der Vergangenheit heimlich an sich genommen, die Mutter das Fehlen jedoch nicht bemerkt hat.
Die Mutter wird rund um die Uhr von der Polizei betreut
Die Familie H. stammt aus Hermannsburg, ist seit Generationen integriert und engagiert. Die Entführung der vier Kinder macht in dem Ort schnell die Runde, die Anteilnahme ist enorm, die Hilflosigkeit enorm.
Pastor Heine ist selbst Vater dreier Kinder und doch sagt er: “Keiner von uns kann wirklich nachempfinden, was Katja gerade durchmacht. Und auch können wir ihr ihren Kummer nicht abnehmen.”
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Nach langem Zögern und nach ausführlichen Gesprächen mit den Ermittlern hat sich Katja H. entschieden, an die Öffentlichkeit zu gehen. Bei “sternTV” trat sie persönlich auf. “Nur die Hoffnung, meine Kinder wiederzusehen, hält mich aufrecht”, sagte sie dort und beschrieb ihre qualvollen Stunden der Verzweiflung. Wie ihre Kinder in Afrika wohl leben? Was sie essen? Wie sie an Trinkwasser kommen?
Katja H. wird von Polizeibeamten betreut, sucht Zuflucht bei Freunden und ihrer Familie, geht halbtags arbeiten, auch um sich abzulenken. “Sie ist jetzt an einem Punkt, wo sie Ruhe braucht. Sie kann nicht mehr”, sagt Pastor Heine.
“Bild”-Leser trafen Axel H. zufällig im Sudan, fotografierten die Kinder. Erst nach ihrer Rückkehr in Deutschland erfuhren sie von dem Fall. Katja H. hat es zur Kenntnis genommen, beruhigt hat sie eher die Nachricht, dass ihr Mann wieder in Ägypten sein soll.
An agreement between countries drawn up in The Hague is meant to prevent kids from being bounced around the world. Japan, though, stands out from the pack and for all the wrong reasons.
The government there is accused of being too slow to stop its citizens from taking their own children, without the approval of one parent, back to Japan.
For the first time, Sarah Dingle’s investigation takes us inside the mind of an abductor in the anatomy of a kidnapping.SARAH DINGLE: Eric Kalmus says it’s time to let go.
ERIC KALMUS: I’m in a very good spot. I have a wonderful family. I need to give them the amount of energy that I was giving Amy. I’m still here, she’s still in my heart, I still love her. Any day that she picks up the phone and calls me, I’ll gladly go meet her wherever she is.
But yeah, I think I’ve allowed it to not be in my hands any more.
I’m better now. It doesn’t hurt like it used to. It doesn’t hurt like it used to.
San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis announced today that her office’s Child Abduction Unit successfully located a 7-year-old autistic boy in Mexico and reunited him with his mother in San Diego.
An arrest warrant has been issued for 37-year-old Julio Rocha, who in 2007 took his then 2-year-old son, Keoni Rocha, to Mexico after the boy’s mother requested full custody. Julio Rocha has been charged with one felony count of child abduction.
“Locating missing children and returning them home to San Diego isn’t easy within the United States, let alone across an international border,” DA Dumanis said. “The dedicated investigators in our Child Abduction Unit routinely overcome difficulties in dealing with foreign governments to recover children from around the world.”
The DA’s Child Abduction Unit is contacted when a child is taken form his or her parent or rightful guardian in violation of that person’s right to custody. Investigators in the unit work with Mexico and other countries to track down children and get them home safely.
In this case, a young woman doing online research for a school project in Mexico came across a poster from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children with information about Keoni Rocha and his father. The girl recognized the boy as a neighbor and contacted authorities.
Thanks to help from the neighbor, District Attorney Investigators were able to negotiate a voluntary return of Keoni Rocha’s with his grandparents at the Mexico City airport last week.
“It was the most heart-wrenching return I have ever seen,” said DA Investigator Carole Snyder who works in the Child Abduction Unit. “The grandmother and the aunt knew this would be the last time they saw Keoni. The boy’s mother, Leilani Masumoto, who had not seen her son in five years, bonded like they were meant to be as soon as they were reunited at the airport.”
Last year, the DA’s Child Abduction Unit conducted 150 investigations and recovered 75 abducted children from around the U.S. In addition, the unit worked 30 cases involving children being abducted from, or taken to other countries, including, Mexico, Germany, Argentina, Columbia, and Dominica. In 2011, the Child Abduction Unit’s ‘Visitation Reporting System’ which is accessible via the DA’s website, logged 2,096 violations.
“Over the years, we’ve successfully located children and returned them from several countries including France, the Philippines, Sweden, Germany and Mexico,” DA Dumanis said. “Given San Diego’s location, a number of child abductions involve children who are taken across the border to Mexico.”
The DA’s Child Abduction Unit assists parents in both countries. The number of cross-border cases involving Mexico handled by the DA’s Office has grown from 10 cases in 2006, to 21 cases in 2011. So far this year, the unit has opened 15 such cases. The District Attorney’s Office Child Abduction unit is only involved when a parent or other family member abducts a child involving a violation of Family Court, Juvenile Court and/or Probate Court orders.
If anyone has information on the whereabouts of Julio Rocha, who is believed to be living in the United States, please call 619-531-4345
(646) 502-7443 United States
069 2547 2471 Germany
020 3239 0013 United Kingdom
01 442 9322 Ireland
031-753 83 77 Sweden
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