A judge has released details of an eight-year-old British girl who has been taken to the US by her mother unlawfully.
Jessica Monkman, who was the focus of family court proceedings between her mother, Natalie Lewis, and father, Nathan Lawrence, was taken in March, and is living in Cincinnati, Ohio.
In a High Court hearing, Mr Justice Newton gave permission for the details of the case to be made public, while her father hoped it would encourage the return of his daughter.
Mr Lawrence, 35, and 36-year-old Ms Lewis, both from Erdington, Birmingham, had separated in 2010 after a ten-year relationship before family court proceedings regarding Jessica began.
Mr Lawrence feared that Jessica would be taken to the US after her mother apparently married an American man in secret. A Birmingham judge therefore made an order for her not to be removed from the UK without the court’s permission.
Jessica was reported missing, and has since been taken to a police station in Cincinnati for the purpose of “safe and well” checks.
Mr Lawrence’s lawyer, Pam Sanghera from The Family Firm Solicitors in Birmingham explained that Jessica was taken without saying goodbye to her father, and Ms Lewis even failed to inform her school.
Mr Lawrence hopes that the public attention will push Ms Lewis to return to the UK with Jessica, but not “incur public opprobrium”.
Ms Sanghera added that Mr Lawrence has had no direct or indirect communication with his daughter since April and was “heartbroken.”