An elderly couple from the West Midlands have been jailed for a combined 26 months for smuggling their daughter and her children out of the UK.
The woman and her two children, aged seven and two, flew to Costa Rica after a Family Court ruled that the children would live with their natural father. Wanting their daughter to keep custody over the children, the Wolverhampton-based grandparents assisted in getting the family beyond the reach of the British justice system.
According to the Express & Star, the mother previously had full custody over the children but this was reduced down to just one hour of supervised contact every month.
When the children went to visit their grandparents, the elderly couple drove the children to a secret location where a chauffeured car was waiting for them, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard. The driver took the children and mother to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris where they boarded a flight to Madrid before getting another plane to Costa Rica where a hotel was booked for them.
When asked about the disappearance of the children the grandparents lied, claiming they must have sneaked out during the night. A text message from the grandmother to her daughter revealed this was not true and they were taken to court while the children were brought home from Costa Rica.
The grandparents pleaded guilty to child abduction and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Mr Christopher Rodwell, defending, said: “They knew they had made a terrible mistake. Once they had told a lie, it was difficult for them to get out of it and they just got deeper and deeper into the mire. This case has destroyed them. The have lost their grandchildren and their daughter. They are devastated.”