FBI accuses U.S. couple of kidnapping 10-year-old to potentially pursue gender-affirming care in Cuba

A couple from the United States is facing international kidnapping charges after prosecutors claimed they took a 10-year-old child to Cuba to potentially pursue gender-affirming care, allegedly deceiving the child’s biological mother with a Canadian camping trip as cover story.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department said Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, and Blue Inessa-Ethington, 32, were arrested and charged after Trump administration took the rare step of sending a government plane to bring the child back from Havana on Monday.

“The pair is accused of allegedly skipping out on a planned camping trip to Canada with a shared custody child and instead took the 10-year-old to Havana, Cuba, without the biological mother’s knowledge or court approval,” the statement read.

A series of court documents filed in U.S. District Court detail what prosecutors alleged was an international kidnapping plot that involved “extensive” planning and thousands of dollars in cash.

CBC News has contacted public defenders for both Rose Inessa-Ethington and Blue Inessa-Ethington for comment. They have not entered a plea and the charges are unproven.

Group crossed into B.C. on foot, filings say

The filings say Rose Inessa-Ethington, one of the child’s biological parents, was supposed to be going camping in Banff, Alta., on March 28 with Blue, the 10-year-old child and another three-year-old child. But documents say the women never reached the Days Inn hotel nor the Tunnel Mountain Village campground in Banff, and they turned off their cellphones.

Investigators said Rose transitioned to female after the child’s birth. She shared custody of the child with the child’s biological mother, identified only as L.B. The justice department said L.B. contacted police in Logan City, Utah, when the couple did not return as scheduled on April 3.

L.B. claimed Rose, her ex-spouse, had violated the terms of their custody agreement.

Investigators determined Rose, Blue and the children never went to Alberta, according to court documents. Prosecutors say the group instead walked into British Columbia from Washington State through the Peace Arch border crossing on March 29.

The group flew from Vancouver International Airport to Mexico City that afternoon before continuing on to Cuba with their U.S. passports two days later, the filings said.

In an affidavit sworn last week, FBI special agent Jennifer Waterfield said investigators who searched the couple’s home in Utah found “to-do” lists detailing plans to empty bank accounts, learn Spanish, put their belongings in storage and secure tourist visas. She said investigators also found notes with instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., related to “gender-affirming medical care for children” and a request to send the therapist $10,000 US ($13,650 Cdn). The court filing did not say if the notes mentioned Cuba.

The affidavit said Rose Inessa-Ethington quit her job before leaving town and Blue Inessa-Ethington had booked time off, but never got back in touch with her employer once they left. The sworn statement also said Blue withdrew $10,000 US from her chequing account in the days before the trip.

A Utah state court judge granted L.B. sole custody and ordered the child immediately returned to her care on April 13, according to the justice department. Cuban law enforcement found the group last Thursday and the U.S. government plane retrieved the child on Monday.

Unusual use of government aircraft

In her affidavit, Waterfield said “concerns exist that [the child] was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty,” based on interviews with “family members.”

Logan City Police Chief Jeff Simmons said his department’s initial focus was on the custodial interference allegations in the case, and he said investigators did not learn until later about the concerns over gender-affirming surgery.

Logan police spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Bevan told The Associated Press those concerns were raised by one family member. He declined to say who.

“They just had the concern about it, no actual physical evidence” Bevan said.

Gender-affirming surgery isn’t legal in Cuba for children.

The unusual use of the government aircraft comes as the Trump administration continues to block access to gender-affirming care for minors across the U.S. and threaten health-care providers who perform that care. Gender-affirming surgery is rare among American children, research has shown.

In Cuba, gender-affirming surgeries are performed for adults through the public health system under strict supervision. They must be authorized by a medical commission following a comprehensive review of the patient’s file. The process often takes years and requires a wide range of medical and psychological evaluations.

Gender-affirming care is a broader category that can include therapy, counselling, or hormone treatment.

The Inessa-Ethingtons made an initial appearance in federal district court in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday after they were flown back to the U.S.

Prosecution will continue in Utah, where the couple lives. The statement said the child has been returned to L.B.’s care.