
Father Tricks Judge, Kidnaps Son
| 12/18/2009 - 14:54 |
Jean Paul Lacombe, 10, was kidnapped by his father after a Texas judge mistakenly granted him custody. 288th District Court Judge Solomon "Sol" Casseb III transferred custody to Jean Philippe Lacombe, 41, after he produced a warrant for his own arrest from Mexico. The court wasn't able to translate the documents or verify them because no one in the Texas courtroom spoke Spanish, yet took Lacombe for his word, although he had already kidnapped his son previously.
"It's so hard to explain that is all a big mistake," Berenice Diaz, Jean Paul's mother, told Good Morning America.
Little Jean Paul was kidnapped almost two months ago, but the case didn't get national media attention until Diaz released a copy of the surveillance video taken on the school bus when police assisted Jean Phillipe in kidnapping his son. On the video, a terrified Jean Paul is heard screaming for help, "No no, please help me. He's not my dad. I don't want to live with him." When police officers ask the child why he said Jean Paul is not his father, the 10-year-old responds, "Because he hits me a lot of times. I don't want to live with him."
Berenice Diaz is now fighting to get attention for her case in the hopes that an international manhunt can help her find her son. Prosecutors in San Antonio recently obtained kidnapping and aggravated perjury warrants for Jean Philippe Lacombe and have charged him with interference with child custody.
If you want to find out how to help, visit Diaz's website: findjeanpaul.com
















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