Woman fails to hand child to lesbian ex-partner
A US woman who was ordered to hand over custody of her child to her lesbian ex-partner could be charged with parental abduction for failing to comply with a court order.
Lisa Miller, who is now an evangelical Christian, was ordered to hand over her seven-year-old daughter to the girl’s other parent, Janet Jenkins, last Friday.
But when she did not appear at the Virginia home of Jenkins’ parents, they called the police.
Miller was found in contempt of court last month for denying Jenkins liberal access to the child and a judge ruled that the only way to ensure fair access was to switch custody rights to Jenkins.
They had a civil union ceremony in Vermont in 2000 and their daughter Isabella was born to Miller two years later through artificial insemination.
But the couple split up in 2003 when Miller became an evangelical Christian and renounced homosexuality. She then moved to Virginia.
Their civil union was dissolved in 2007 and Miller was granted custody of Isabella with Jenkins allowed liberal visiting rights.
A police spokeswoman told Associated Press that a detective from the department’s child exploitation unit is investigating the case but for now, it is a civil matter.
If police decide a crime has been committed, officers will begin actively searching for Isabella and a warrant will be obtained charging Miller with parental child abduction.
