The father in one of the most litigated family law cases in America gets some comfort, but not much. The father, who requested the names of the victims be kept anonymous, was in court yesterday for the sentencing of Crystel Strelioff on four counts of felony child abduction.
The father said Crystel was sentenced to the maximum of three years on each count, but they run concurrently and in Illinois, where she is serving time, prisoners can be released after 50% of the sentence is served. Because the child abductor already served about six months of her sentence, she may be released in a year.
This means the convict will have the opportunity to abduct her daughter again before the girl reaches the age of majority.
This case is shameful. The mother tricked protective parent organizations such as Justice for Children into spending their time and other resources on a sham case. The father underwent extensive testing voluntarily and the children did not give convincing accounts of any abuse by the father, according to court documents. Worse, the children seemed to the evaluators to have been coached, meaning they suffered verbal and emotional sexual abuse by the people who coached them.
Court documents delivered to the press anonymously show the grandparents James and Helen Lynn to be a risk to the safety of the children. Yet the Los Angeles Superior Court, Commissioner Alan Friedenthal presiding gave sole custody of another child to James and helen Lynn in 2007. The child is still living with the people who raised a convicted child abductor, and the court, Judge Elizabeth Feffer presiding, takes no action to protect that child. (Commissioner Friedenthal recused himself from the case after a declaration was written by the father that accused Commissioner Friedenthal of having a private meeting with the father.)
There is a certain lawlessness brewing in this country. The integrity of the court is in question and many parents are complaining that judges and court collaterals such as evaluators seem to be for sale. Some litigants cry wolf (child abuse) when none exists, and others are ignored when their children plead for help convincingly.
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