Its a well-known fact that when a couple from two different countries or cultures divorce, the one who must submit to jurisdiction often feels at a great disadvantage. The strong feeling that his or her rights as a parent have not been respected as they should have been pushes that person towards a rejection of everyone and everything to do with this jurisdiction. Whether or not that person admits to any faults he or she rejects the decision of the court and considers himself or herself to be its victim. This is the case with Gerry Morris.

This person is directing a bad film and forcing his son to play a part in it.
Unhappily, life is not a film.
 

THE FACTS:

1. The mother, Sonja Morris, a German citizen, met the father, Gerry, in Munich, Germany, in 1989, while he was vacationing there. She moved to  Fargo,ND to live with him in mid 1980. In summer 1991 the couple moved to Denver, CO. Gerry took a teaching position at the CMS Department of the Metropolitan State College in Denver. In order to be able to stay in the US Sonja became a student

2. The couple married in Ireland, Gerry’s country of birth, in 1994. They returned to the US. The relationship became difficult as Sonja was overburdened with work and study. Gerry often stated that women always manipulated men, and abused them. Sonja felt guilty due to her financial dependency. The couple sought marital counselling in the spring of ’95.

3. In 1995 Sonja graduated from college and in early ’96 she started work  in Denver. Gerry, though, was a professor, and therefore had lots of vacation time. He went to Austria for 5 weeks on his own in May/June 1996, and decided while he was in Europe he wanted a child, preferably a son.

4. Sean was born on April 1 1997. Most of that summer the family spent in Europe, with Gerry travelling, mainly to Austria alone. When they returned to Denver he told Sonja she would have to work to pay her way, so she took a job for 20 hours per week on the condition that Gerry looked after Sean while she was out of the house. But that was too much for him to do so Sean soon ended up in daycare for at least one day a week.
 
 

5. For his own personal reasons Gerry wanted to return to Austria, preferably to live. He went after several teaching positions there and thought he had obtained a guest lectureship in Linz, Austria. So he applied for sabbatical leave for a year from his Denver college. The position fell through but he was successful in finding one in Basel, Switzerland. The couple sold their house in Colorado and moved to Switzerland on August 1, 1998. Gerry looked on this position as a stepping stone to finding something permanent in Europe, preferably in Austria.

6. Sonja started working 4 days a week  in September 1998. The plan was for her to work there until at least June ’99. Gerry’s teaching assignment was to be completed on March 31, 1999. After that he wanted to vacation on his own in Austria until at least July. When Sonja began working  Gerry said it was too much for him to look after Sean even though he was not to start teaching until October 19, and then only a few hours per week. Gerry often went to Austria on his own. Sonja was by now becoming exhausted with the stress of a new job, looking after Sean on her own, etc and regularly asked her husband for help. He refused .

7. Sonja started to feel settled in Switzerland. As soon as she told Gerry this he told her to quit her job and go to Austria with him. She said she intended to stay in Switzerland with Sean.  The next day Gerry phoned her at work and said she was to return to the US with him in the summer of ’99. She said no. He then started a program of abuse, threatening her with “anything you can imagine.....let your fantasy work”, and mad car rides.

8. At the end of January Gerry suddenly stopped his threatening behavior. He became very nice to Sonja and encouraged her to go to a weekend seminar in Geneva. She thought he was undergoing a positive change after all.It turned out this was part of a well thought-out plan. Sonja had decided she could no longer live with him, and had organised an apartment for herself and Sean. She asked Gerry to help her with the move, and he replied he had to work at the University until March 31 and would discuss the move with her later. This was strange, as his classes had officially already ended. But as he was being so nice to her she was lulled into a sense of peace.
 
 

9. On February 20 Sonja went to Geneva to her seminar. She returned on the evening of the 21st. Sean and his father were not at home. she realized then that GERRY HAD TAKEN SEAN AWAY TO AN UNKNOWN DESTINATION WITHOUT  HER KNOWLEDGE OR CONSENT! That night Sonja called friends and relatives in the US and Ireland, in a desperate search for her child, but either people did not know, or they pretended not to know where he was. As Sonja found out afterwards, Dave and Lynn Hufnagel, both anaesthesiologists working at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Denver, gave Gerry sanctuary for some time. She only found out later.

10. On February 20 Sonja obtained an ex parte custody order from the Civil Court of Basel, Switzerland. On Feb. 23 she received some American divorce papers (without a case number) in which Gerry claimed to have been living in Colorado for the previous 90 days. This was a ruse by him to obtain jurisdiction there, but was a lie. It showed that his move back to the US had been carefully planned by him.. Only On the night of 23 Feb Gerry called Sonja and said if she wanted to see her son again she would have to return to the US. She could gain access to him only through Gerry’s lawyer. She informed him she had obtained custody of Sean, and it would be unlawful of Gerry not to return him to her legal custody. He refused to countenance this. A warrant for Gerry’s arrest went out the next day, and was upgraded to an Interpol warrant at the beginning of March.
 
 

11. On Feb 26 Sonja filed for return of her child under the Hague Convention. Since the father refused to return the child she had to get a lawyer in Denver, which she did with the considerable help of friends. But Gerry’s lawyer is very litigative, challenges every possible point for the sake of prolonging the case, and this is making it hugely costly for Sonja, who has only limited funds as Gerry controls the marital assets. This is intended to rid Sonja of her emotional and financial resources

12.The case was due to be tried on July 1 and 2 in the Federal District Court of Denver, Colorado,but on June 18 it was postponed to August 23 and 24, supposedly because of more important criminal local cases.  this is 6 months after Sean’s wrongful removal from his mother. The Hague Convention considers 6 weeks is the maximum time it should take.
On Aug. 25, the judge decided that due to the sabbatical leave tha habitual residence never shifted from Colorado to Switzerland, and therefore, the removal was not wrongful. The mother had travelled To Denver for the trial a few days prior and Gerry did not allow her to see Sean until the judge ordered it. but she was only allowed to see him by depositing her passport.
Sonja could not afford to go into an appeal for the Hague decision.

13.The divorce/custody issue was moved into Jefferson County, the same county where the Raoul Wüthrich case was handled. On a hearing regarding temporary orders the magistrate completely ignored the fact that Sonja had obtained custody prior to other proceedings. This is currently on appeal.
 

Gerry is using Sean to force Sonja to agree to minimal divorce terms. To this day, Gerry has not given a valid address to Sonja concerning the whereabouts of her child. Nor does she know who takes care of Sean during the dayThis is a modern form of torture, the effects of which, while not comparable to physical torture, are nonetheless devastating to both mother and child, and could well hinder Sean’s physical and mental development in the long term.
It was particularly sad that Sean was ripped away from his mother and his friends at the daycare centre in Switzerland without any goodbye process. He is a shy child, and was forming relationships for the first time in his life. Now he believes he has been abandoned by both his mother and his friends. He has been brutally removed from his regular life and from all the people and places which constituted his frame of reference.

This is a modern form of torture, the effects of which, while not comparable to physical torture, are nonetheless devastating to both mother and child, and could well hinder Sean's physical and mental development in the long term.

It was particularly sad that Sean was ripped away from his mother and his friends at the daycare centre in Switzerland without any goodbye process. He is a shy child, and was forming relationships for the first time in his life. Now he believes he has been abandoned by both his mother and his friends. He has been brutally removed from his regular life and from all the people and places which constituted his frame of reference.
 
 

WHO COULD BELIEVE OF THIS MAN 
 

1. that he makes Sean believe his mother can come and see him whenever she wants, whereas she doesn’t know where her son is living?

2. that he has only allowed little Sean to speak with his Mammi on the phone since October 99, twice a week?

3. that his carefully planned abduction of Sean was being arranged while he was luring Sonja into a sense of security (he was shopping for the best forum  as evidenced by the fact that he had hired lawyers in Germany, Switzerland, and the US)?

4.  that he could use a 2 year old infant as an instrument of power over his wife?
 
 

1. On the evening of February 21, 1999 I came home and realized that my husband had disappeared with my 23-month.old son. On February 22nd ,1999 , the Basel civil court issued an ex parte custody order in my favour. On February 23rd, I was served with American divorce paperwork at my  place of work. The abductor called on February 24th and informed me that I would have to come to Denver if I wanted to see my son. I, in turn, informed him about the ex parte custody order but he ignored it. I informed the police and a warrant was issuedfor his arrest. I was in a terrible state of shock. I didn't think I could bear the pain.
2. I filed immediately for the return of the child under the Hague Convention. I was naïve, expecting a decision in my favour to be made within six weeks. I was not personally familiar with the American legal system, but I was learning at a rapid and expensive pace.  Even though the Hague is very clear and straightforward, the lawyers managed to drag out the case in different directions. The court date was postponed twice for dubious reasons, finally taking place six months after the abduction.
3. Needless to say, after a two-day hearing, I lost my case.  In his decision, the judge mentioned that both father and son are Americans, while the mother is German; none of us having ties to Switzerland The father was merely on a one-year sabbatical leave (which he abruptly halted after six months) and therefore the child's habitual residence, one of the critical points under the Hague, never shifted to Switzerland. He completely ignored facts such as my work contract, the child being accustomed to a Swiss daycare, the removal of the child without my knowledge or consent, and a whole range of similar details
4. In October of 1999 I received permissionto speak with my son twice a week by telephone.
5. One year after the abduction a special advocate was consulted in order to make a decision most beneficial for the child. He decided that the child has meanwhile adjusted very well to living with his father. "The mother is unwilling to sacrifice her lifestyle in Switzerland for a more meaningful relationship with her son in the US:" Only then did I find out where my son was actually living…
6. In November 2000 the divorce court took place in Colorado, but the papers were not finally signed until March 2001. Not surprisingly, the divorce decree gives sole custody to the father. I have visitation rights in Colorado only, and only after submitting my passport, because I am portrayed as a potential abductor.
7. In March 2001, I submitted my passport to my lawyer, and Sean's German passport to the custody of the German embassy in Bern. I was able to get three weeks of parenting time with overnights then.
8. This year, the father threatened me beforehand, that he would not allow me to see Sean if I were not to submit my passport to the Jefferson County Court. This is the same court which handled the well-known Raoul Wüthrich case. Sean's German passport was still in custody at the embassy in Bern, and I submitted mine to my lawyer upon arrival in the US in March 2002. There was no way I would be able to reabduct Sean. However, the father denied my visitation rights and I filed for an emergency hearing the next day The German embassy in Los Angeles sent a letter to the court that the court has no right to keep my passport. The "emergency" hearing took finally place nine(!) days after my arrival. The judge decided to allow me visitation in a supervised center only. This is not my idea of meaningful parenting time and I refuse to be treated as a potential criminal when the actual crime has been committed by the father in the first place.
9. The court ordered me to take down all websites regarding the abduction of my son; however, even under American law I am entitled to "Freedom of Speech" and I insist on my point of view to be seen. the divorce is not finalized in Switzerland and Europe anyway.
10. Sean seems to be doing fine. I managed to see him four times during my stay in the US - After the father won his case, he allowed me to see my boy. Even though our contact was very short I felt that there is a very strong bond between Sean and me. Now he starts to ask on the phone "Why are you living out of state?" "Can I come to your house?" "Can I see my grandparents?" I tell him that he has to ask his father, since he could come to my house any time. The older he gets, the more questions he will ask. One day he will be able to read all the documentation and form his own opinion.
11. Even though the Swiss Central Authority could not condemn the verdict under the Hague as absolutely wrong, the Hague has failed in my opinion for various reasons.
12. In the US, the case can be dragged out until it is "better" for the child to stay there.
13. The US have signed the Hague convention, but not the part which gives financial aid to a parent. This makes it extremely difficult in a country where "justice" idepends strongly on agressive lawyers. The law allows them to drag out cases as long as their clients are willing to pay. I had no access to marital assets as they were all in my husband's name. Were it not for a victim's aid group I would have had to give up very early in the process.
14. I found out later that during our stay in Switzerland, my ex-husband had consulted (and retained) a German, Swiss, and American lawyer, in order to find out the most favourable forum for a divorce. This is exactly what the Hague intends to prevent
15. I strongly believe that I was treated with gender and national bias. In the courts I was up against an "old boys club", the judges, the aggressive opposing counsel, the abductor clutching a bible vs. me and my in-experienced female lawyer. My opponents seemed to hold the ancient belief that a "good" mother must sacrifice herself for her child (i.e. giving up a good position in Switzerland, the appartment etc and move to tn uncertain life in the US with no green card).
16. I thought I was dealing with a "civilized" country, and wanted to go the way of the lawBut  as my experience has shown, it is as difficult to get a child out of the US as it is from a so-called "rogue state"
17. My heart goes out to all children victims of international child abduction and to left-behind parents. The pain one is going through is inconceivable to people who have not experienced this. We left-behind parents have to keep up our spirits for the sake of our children.

Comments and suggestions to help us bring Seán home..

Choose one of the following:

I am a concerned parent. I have information for you. I would like to have information.

Thank you for signing the visitor's book.

Please write your name: 

and your e-mail address