Mother accused of abducting child says 'courts failed her'

Anyone who recognises Andrew Thompson or his mother should not approach them. (Supplied)

By Jayne Margetts

Posted Mon Feb 2, 2009 8:43pm AEDT
Updated Mon Feb 2, 2009 9:00pm AEDT

A woman who fled the country with her four-year-old son to avoid a custody hearing has made contact with Australia for the first time in nine months.

In a letter to The Australian newspaper, Melinda Stratton says she left the country because the family courts failed her.

The boy's father, NSW Fire Brigade Deputy Commissioner Ken Thompson, says his son Andrew was abducted and he has launched an international campaign to find him but despite his efforts both at home and abroad, the trail has gone cold.


"I've almost learnt to live for the past 12 months in a constant state of stress and anxiety. I have no idea where my son is; I have no idea where my wife is," he said.

Ms Stratton fled to Germany with the four-year-old boy in April last year, while the couple were in the middle of a custody battle.

Mr Thompson says his estranged wife has a mental condition.

"She'd formed a belief that I was harming Andrew in some way. I knew that belief was wrong," he said.

Now Ms Stratton has written to The Australian newspaper explaining why she left. In the letter she refers to "the appalling failure of the Family Law Court and Child Protection Services".

"I have clearly lost faith in any form of justice coming out of Australia. By remaining silent, however, I ensure that they can continue to treat other mothers and children this way," the letter continues.

A specialist in family law and child protection, Patrick Parkinson, says since reforms were introduced in 2006, the Family Court must consider allowing equal access to both parents in a custody dispute.

"The court must at least consider equal time and it must at least consider time which is during the school week and not at the weekends and in school holidays," he said.

But family lawyer Sally Nicholes say that does not make the law biased in favour of fathers.

"I do not believe that they're going to have any more chance of having shared care or more access than they would in the past," she said.

The Australian Federal Police and Interpol are investigating Andrew Thompson's alleged abduction and a warrant has been issued for his mother's arrest.

Anyone who recognises Andrew Thompson or his mother should not approach them because Ms Stratton may pose a danger to herself and her son. People are asked instead to contact police.

My Two Cents...

Anyone that follows my blog KNOWS I'm NOT gender bias one way or the other.. if your an idiot whether you sit or stand to pee then your still an idiot.. makes no difference to me..

So on that note.. I would love to know the "truth" in this story!

Normally I would have shut my mouth and just copied and pasted it without this input.. but when I read the father warning.. that the mother has mental issues.. and the mother mentioned child protective services.. it began to smell bad.. real bad.. similar to my case!

She's dangerous with mental problems.. and child protective services is involved.. Nah this story smell fishy to me.. I'll follow it to the end.. or to the truth.. which ever comes first!

Mother accused of abducting child says 'courts failed her' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

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