Transcript: Boy says he wants to stay in Brazil
BRASILIA, Brazil — A 9-year-old boy at the center of an international custody battle told a psychologist he wants to stay with his stepfamily in Brazil rather than return to the U.S. with his biological father, according to a transcript of the interview.
In the transcript, released by the Brazilian family’s lawyers on Wednesday, Sean Goldman tells the psychologist that if he is sent back to New Jersey to be with David Goldman he will “break down totally.”
“I want to stay here in Brazil,” the 9-year-old repeats in the interview.
The interview with Sean Goldman was conducted Monday by psychologist Terezinha Feres-Carneiro in a Rio de Janeiro hospital. It wasn’t immediately clear who paid for the psychologist’s services.
When asked to draw a picture of his family, the boy drew only his stepfather, sister and Brazilian grandparents.
The transcript’s release follows comments last week by David Goldman that a hearing in Brazil had made public an issue that he said he had been legally barred from discussion previously: “The psychological damage that has been inflicted on my son is finally out in the open.”
“There’s no words to describe the anxiety and the pain that I feel from that,” he said.
Goldman’s lawyer told the judges about reports by three court-appointed psychologists who found Sean was suffering.
Calls to David Goldman and his lawyer late Wednesday were not immediately returned.
In 2004, Sean’s mother, Bruna Bianchi, took him for a two-week vacation to her native Brazil and never returned. She divorced David Goldman in Brazil and married Rio de Janeiro lawyer Joao Paulo Lins e Silva.
She died last year, and a Rio state court granted Lins e Silva temporary custody of Sean.
A lower court in Brazil later ruled that Sean Goldman be returned to the U.S., but that decision was suspended after a petition was filed arguing that removing Sean from his current family environment would hurt the boy.
Last week, Brazil’s Supreme Court rebuffed the petition, instead ruling the decision on the boy’s fate must be made by a federal court.
Filed under Court, Legal Proceedings, News | Tags: Brasilia, Brazil, Latin America And Caribbean, Lt-brazil-us-custody-battle, Rio De Janeiro, South America | Comment Below
Related?
Summary box: Goldman international custody battleJune 11th, 2009 Summary box: Goldman international custody battleLATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Brazil's Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuffs a bid to block the return of a 9-year-old boy to the United States to live with his father, David Goldman, of Tinton Falls, New Jersey. However, it says Brazil's federal court must consider an appeal from the boy's stepfamily, who want him to remain in Brazil.
NJ man heads back to Brazil as supreme court considers his quest for custody of 9-year-old sonJune 9th, 2009 NJ man heads back to Brazil in custody battleTRENTON, N.J. — A New Jersey man is heading back to Brazil to hear that country's Supreme Court consider his request to get custody of his son.
Brazilian attorney: Immediate return of boy with American father unlikelyJune 10th, 2009 Boy unlikely to return quickly from Brazil to USSAO PAULO — An attorney for a New Jersey man seeking to regain custody of his son says that even if Brazil's supreme court rules in his client's favor, the boy cannot depart immediately for the U.S.. The supreme court is reviewing whether 9-year-old Sean Goldman can be returned to his father, David, in the U.S.
Jackson's children could become focus of custody battleJune 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Michael Jackson's three children could face a complex custody battle in days ahead. Jackson died suddenly, leaving behind two sons and a daughter, aged 12, 11 and 7, who had lived with him practically since birth.
Mistrial declared in the case of a child psychologist accused of molesting patientsJuly 28th, 2009 Mistrial declared in trial of child psychologistREDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A mistrial has been declared in the case of a prominent Northern California child psychologist accused of molesting some of his patients.
'Valkyrie' bosses face lawsuit over Hitler's globeJanuary 1st, 2009 LONDON - Producers of Tom Cruise's new movie 'Valkyrie' are reportedly facing possible legal action over the use of a Nazi prop in the film. The movie, which tells the true story of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, includes scenes featuring the Nazi leader's famous globe, on which he planned his military strategy.
Pakistan court issues stay order against WC Secretariat moveMay 18th, 2009 KARACHI - The Lahore High Court Monday issued a stay order against the relocation of the World Cup 2011 secretariat from Pakistan to India. Taffazul Rizvi, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) legal adviser, said that a representative of the International Cricket Council (ICC) also attended the hearing in Lahore.
Brazil court frees alleged mastermind of US nun's Amazon killing while considering caseApril 22nd, 2009 Brazil court frees suspect in US nun's killingSAO PAULO — A Brazilian court has freed an Amazon rancher accused of masterminding the 2005 murder of a U.S. nun and rain forest activist.
