When Instagram and Facebook fuel a parental dispute over the custody of their child
The story could be banal to cry, but it is the tragic fate of the legal file of the custody of Alexandro which wanders, for almost 10 years, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, between France, Monaco and England. Last twists, publications on Instagram of the evening of the 70 years of his father-in-law, famous British billionaire, John Caudwell.
For confidentiality reasons, the child’s first name has been changed. His dad will be named Monsieur. His mother, Mrs.
Coeven in any hellostory, there is a beginning, a middle and an end. But in that of Alexandro, a young boy of 11, there is still no end.
For more than 9 years, his parents have been engaged in a fierce fight to obtain his custody.
It all started well though. The father and the biological mother of the child meet, by the greatest chance, in a street of Ventimiglia. Thunderbolt.
She, a high-level Lithuanian cyclist. Him, Italian, butler on the Monegasque territory with official accommodation and of course also passionate about cycling.
On October 1, 2011, they got married. From this union, was born, on February 2, 2012, a little boy: Alexandro.
Like much modern history, a short time later, in August 2013, the couple separated and began divorce proceedings, pronounced at their shared wrongs in December 2016.
According to the advice of both parties: “Monsieur for violence, which he has always denied.” And “Madam, for having left the marital home with the child without giving any news for weeks, since, according to her words, she was terrified”.
A disputed alternating custody
Following the judgment of the Court of First Instance rendered on December 15, 2016, confirmed by judgment of October 9, 2018, the spouses were divorced and the habitual residence of the child was fixed with the mother, the father being granted a right of visit and usual accommodation.
The story could have ended there. But, 4 years later, little Alexandro still does not know with whom, where and how he will live his next years.
We keep shouting that Alexandro would be better cared for and cared for if he lived with his father. His mother chose having a life that does not seem to us suitable for the life of a child
Joëlle Fitoussi, lawyer for Mr.
“It is a conflict that has lasted since their separation. It has been brought before various courts in France and Monaco, both criminal and civil. We keep shouting that Alexandro would be better surrounded and better taken care of if he lived with his father. His mother chose having a life that does not seem to us adapted to the life of a child” says Joëlle Fitoussi, lawyer for Mr.
The lawyer refers to the mum’s social life since becoming the British billionaire’s company John Caudwellboss of the Phones 4u empire, sold in 2006.
Alexandro’s father has a mental illness. He’s a narcissistic pervert. He can’t stand that his ex-wife was able to start a new life
Frédéric De Baets, lawyer for Madame.
“It’s a story of parental conflict that’s been going on for a very long time.. (…) If she moved to England, it was because she always felt harassed, denigrated, insulted. The mother takes care of her child in her own way. It’s not her fault that her ex-husband is totally archaic and backward in his view of the place of women in society.” to relate Frédéric De Baets, lawyer for Madame.
Since 2013, the year of the separation of the young parents, no less than 54 procedures have been initiated in this child custody case.
“For the most part, initiated by Mr. according to Mrs. lawyers. I am appalled by the multiplication of procedures initiated by the father. It’s procedural relentlessness which, it seems to me, serves more to settle accounts with the ex-wife than the well-understood interest of the child” remembers Gérard Baudoux, Madame’s former lawyer.
What did this father do so much that he was prevented from seeing and taking care of his son?
A procedural duration and twists and turns that Joëlle Fitoussi, the lawyer advising Mr. does not understand: “2016, I did not find, once, the possibility of negotiating in this file. Even attempts at mediation have failed. This is the first time I’ve seen this in my 32-year career at the Bar. We are waging a fight that is out of the question. Never. This is about protect a little boy that we have given the attention of many jurisdictions for several years. Several reports have also been made by outsiders, such as the school principal, relatives… What is surprising is that over these years, each time we have the impression to move forward and be heard, either by health professionals or by authorities of all kinds, at the last moment, the situation turned against us and my client found himself in the dock, as if he were a stalker, a madman. I don’t understand”.
As proof, she wants the medical report of September 6, 2018 from the Lenval hospital in Nice. : “Worried about the comments made by his son, my client had him hospitalized in the pediatric emergency room where he stayed for 4 days. The summary of the care of the child psychiatrist team of the UPRTS of Lenval is as follows:
The child was able to confirm his suicidal ideation with the risk of acting out in a context of family conflict
Summary of the care of the child psychiatrist team of the UPRTS of Lenval – 06 September 2018
Asked about this, Frédéric De Baets, Madame’s lawyer, says: “Each of Monsieur’s reports concerning the so-called ill-treatment of his son has been followed up by investigations. In France or Monaco, each time, there is a classification without systematic follow-up for 10 years”.
And Master Fitoussi to add: “But what did this father do so much to prevent him from seeing and taking care of his son? And what did this little one do to prevent him from seeing his father” .
There is a child in a state of suffering. I don’t think the mother understood her son’s despair at being away from his father.
According to the various reports from the legal authorities consulted, the child is not in danger. It would be a “conflict of loyalty”that Alexandro would express.
Observations that Joëlle Fitoussi, Mr.’s lawyer, cannot hear: “It’s easy to say that. We cannot be satisfied with this observation. There is a child in a state of suffering. I don’t think the mother understood her son’s despair at being away from his father. The dad is bruised to find his son more and more desperate when he comes back to him. My client fights, again and again, for the good of his child and not just for his custody.
The publication of photos of minors, on any media whatsoever, is subject to regulations. The law also applies to divorced parents.
Thus, according to the order of the family division of the Family Court of Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom, dated July 11, 2022, the court specifies to both parents “that neither party should post images of Alexandro on public social media platforms without the consent of the other party”.
“A recommendation held in part by Madame, who regularly posts photos of Alexandro on her Instagram or that of her companion. Sometimes it’s true, hiding the face of her eldest son with a little heart, sometimes not. I have nothing else to add. The facts speak for my client.” adds the advice of Monsieur.
On October 7, Alexandro appeared in several photos posted on the Instagram and Facebook accounts of his mother and his stepfather, John Caudwell, who, that evening, celebrated his 70th birthday aboard Ponant’s Le Lyrial.
These photos have been blurred by the editorial staff of France 3 Côte d’Azur to preserve the identity of the children.
A birthday party with the theme “leather and lace”. And John Caudwell to add in his Facebook comment: “And even our brilliant headliner Nicole Scherzinger got into the spirit of the dress code. Friends and longtime followers may remember that I had the same theme for my 55th birthday. Fifteen years later, I still fit into the outfit – pretty much!” .
Present among the many guests, Alexandro and his little brother (born of his mother and John Caudwell) take part in the evening.
An evening which, according to Joëlle Fitoussi, Monsieur’s lawyer, remained etched in Alexandro’s memory: “My client’s son asked his father a lot of questions during his last vacation with him, in mid-October. What is this big plastic doll? The grown-ups lead to weird things. They all kissed on the mouth, they made me play with the big doll. Everyone was crazy, like when you drink too much.”
A story that upsets Alexandro’s fatherwho then decides to lodge a complaint at the end of October and seizes, on November 3, through his lawyer, the Monaco public prosecutor’s office.
Another decision of Alexandro’s dad: not to return his son to his mother in accordance with the decisions of the Family Division Order of the Family Court of Stoke-on-Tent of the United Kingdom of July 11, 2022.
A father in custody
Having no news of her son and unable to reach her ex-husband, Madame, decides to file a complaint against him, in France and Monaco, on Monday, November 7, 2022.
Wednesday 9 in the morning, according to Master Fitoussi, “Monsieur receives a phone call from the Monegasque police. He announces to the police that he will go to the police station, by scooter, as soon as he has dropped off his boss and then brought his car home. The police were waiting for him downstairs, and handcuffed him as if he were a dangerous dangerous. And, despite the complaint that I filed on November 3 with the Monaco public prosecutor’s office, the child was returned to his mothere”.
The gentleman is then placed and kept in police custody for 24 hours. The next day, he was referred by the Monegasque prosecutor’s office for “non-presentation of a child”.
His judgment, for this last case, is brought to January 24, 2023.