T v L (1980 Hague Abduction Convention: Article 13b: Evaluating Evidence of Risk)

Miss J Renton (instructed by (instructed by Freemans Solicitors) for the Applicant Miss A Guha (instructed by Dawson Cornwell ) for the Respondent Hearing dates: April 21st 2023 ____________________

The mother denies that that was the reason for her going to spend time in the USA.

Again, the mother denies either that she had been sexually abused, or that she said anything to the father along those lines, or that she did not feel safe living close to her family. In fact, her case is to the contrary that she is close to her family and enjoys very much their support.

The father refers to a case report. I am not sure whether it is a journalistic report, or a legal report of proceedings relating to the maternal uncle who was sentenced to fifteen years' imprisonment for extensive child sexual abuse of children at a religious school he was teaching at. The mother says that this uncle is somebody who I think she has only met once at a wedding of one of her cousins when he was released from prison to attend it. I think the mother would have been about 8 when this individual was sentenced to that lengthy term of imprisonment.

This approach avoids the binary approach where if one does not feel there are reasoned and reasonable assumptions on which a 13b finding is to be based one falls into the confidently discounted bracket. This approach is more consistent with the need to protect the children which would be undermined by the binary approach.