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Santa Clara Anti-Child Abduction
cell gears to protect
Daljit Singh Sra
 SAN
JOSE: The
California
district administration is gearing up to solve the problem of child
abductions in the country. The problem of child kidnappings is
gigantic and needs the participation of all citizens, said Santa
Clara deputy district attorney Julianne Sylva. This unit takes care
of children at the regional and national level said the district
attorney in an exclusive meeting with World Sikh News.
Of the nearly
200,000 child abductions that occur each year in the
United States,
over 140,000 are parental or familial kidnappings. In California,
prosecutors are mandated to locate and recover children who have
been abducted by family members from a person who has a right of
custody (may be through birth, marriage, adoption, divorce,
guardianship, or through the dependency court).
The district
attorney pointed out that over the last twenty years, California
prosecutors have worked to develop laws in this area and as such,
the child abduction location and recovery tools that prosecutors
have developed are being used as a model throughout the United
States and internationally.
To resolve these
cases, prosecutors may use either civil or criminal laws. The cases
involve abductions or withholding a child from within our county,
abductions of a child to another county in
California,
removal of a child from California to another state or country, or
abductions of a child from another state or country to California.
As such, the cases may involve the criminal and civil laws of
another state or country.
She pointed out
that as the office does not have 24 hour emergency unit, in case of
an emergency, it is necessary to call the police. The Child
Abduction Unit also assists in the enforcement of the visitation
provisions of family court orders under
California penal
code §278.5.
She further
clarified that the person making complaint must have a right of
custody to the child at the time the child is taken. This means
that either a court has ordered that the victim has custody or the
victim has custody by “operation of law.” If you are not sure if
you have a right of custody, hire an attorney, visit the Family Law
Facilitator’s Office or the Santa Clara County Superior Court’s
Self
Service Center at
www.scselfservice.org, or visit the California Courts
Self Help Center at
www.courtinfo.ca.gov.
To meet a child,
the visitor must be legally authorised and the compalaining party
may report the visitation issue on the District Attorney’s website
(only if a visit is withheld, no telephone visits, no other
visitation issues such as transportation cost or travel out of
county.
She pointed out
that in case a case has international ramications, then the affected
person may contact the United States Department of State, Office of
Children’s Issues directly to receive assistance and advice by
calling 1-202-312-9700 or visit the website at
www.travel.state.gov. In fact, the attorney’s office
will also assist you in filing a Hague Petition for the Return of
the child or for access to the child.
Over and above
the above facilities, should the need arise, it may be necessary to
contact the country’s oldest missing children’s organization,
located in Santa Clara County, which is Vanished Children’s Alliance
at
www.vca.org
or 408-296-1113. It may also help to contact the
National
Center
on Missing and Exploited Children at
www.missingkids.com or 1-800-THE-LOST.
Should the need
arise, the phonelines of the district attorney’s office are as
follows: Julianne Sylva, Deputy District Attorney (408) 792-2523
(some Spanish language), Elizabeth Sanchez, Senior Paralegal (408)
792-2958 (bilingual Spanish/English), Randy Brown, Supervising
Investigator (408) 792-2848 (bilingual Spanish/English), Mark
Stevenson, Investigator (408) 792-2841 and
Patty
Weidner, Legal Clerk (408) 792-2921
12 November
2008
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