A Utah couple faces federal kidnapping charges after allegedly deceiving family members and fleeing to Cuba with a 10-year-old child, whom relatives feared was to undergo gender reassignment surgery.
Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, the child’s biological father who later transitioned to female, and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington, 32, told the child’s biological mother they were taking the child on a camping trip to Canada. They never arrived. Instead, the group flew from Vancouver to Mexico City and then on to Havana.
Cuban authorities located the group on April 16, and the child was recovered safely. Rose and Blue were deported to the United States and arraigned on charges of international parental kidnapping and aiding and abetting.
The FBI, which had been searching since March 28, noted that a search of the couple’s residence turned up to-do lists referencing flights to Cuba and Mexico, plans to obtain tourist visas, instructions to empty bank accounts, and notes from a Washington-area therapist regarding gender-affirming medical care for children — along with a request to wire the therapist $10,000.
Family members told investigators they believed Rose had manipulated the child, a biological male who identifies as female, into pursuing a transition, and feared surgery was planned before puberty.
The child’s biological mother, who shares custody with Rose, had not heard from the group since March 28. A Utah court granted her full emergency custody on April 13. By Tuesday, the child was back in her care.
“I don’t think she ever imagined that Rose could do this until it was too late,” said Tess Davis, the mother’s attorney.
