[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 821 Engrossed in House (EH)]
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 7 (legislative day, October 6), 2004.
Whereas Dylan Benwell, a 9-year-old lawful permanent resident with an
application pending for United States citizenship, was taken from his
home in Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, on July 22, 2004, by his maternal
grandparents, Timothy and Ethel Blake, both of whom are citizens of
Ireland;
Whereas Dylan and his mother once lived in Ireland with his maternal
grandparents;
Whereas Dylan has legally remained in the sole custody of his mother Serena
Benwell, and adoptive father, John Benwell, after a Virginia juvenile
district court ruled on December 14, 2001, that Dylan should remain in
the custody of his mother and stepfather;
Whereas Dylan and 3 of his siblings have been adopted by John Benwell, a United
States citizen;
Whereas Dylan and his 5 brothers and sisters are a part of a caring and loving
family;
Whereas Ethel Blake attempted to kidnap Dylan in 1999 from his kindergarten
class in Virginia, and was charged with domestic battery upon John
Benwell;
Whereas on July 16, 2001, Dylan told a Virginia social worker that he did not
want to live in Ireland again with his grandparents and that he wished
to live in the United States with his immediate family;
Whereas on November 29, 2001, Dylan told a social worker with Winthrop Harbor
Schools, in Illinois, that he wanted to live with his mother,
stepfather, and siblings and he also expressed worries that his
grandparents might try to take him away again;
Whereas on December 6, 2001, after an individual session with Dylan, a social
worker with the Great Lakes Naval Hospital reported to the Virginia
juvenile district court that Dylan feared his grandparents after the
first kidnapping attempt, after explaining that he did not wish to live
with his grandparents because he had no friends to play with in Ireland,
and implying that his grandparents spent a large part of their time
drinking beer;
Whereas in recorded telephone conversations in the possession of the police
department of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, Dylan told Timothy Blake that
he did not want to live with the Blakes in Ireland;
Whereas in 2001, a petition for the return of Dylan from the United States to
Ireland, filed by Timothy and Ethel Blake in accordance with the Hague
Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, signed
at The Hague on October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (``Hague Convention''),
was rejected by a United States court which held that the Blakes had no
custodial rights to Dylan upon relocation of the child's mother to the
United States with her American husband;
Whereas Timothy and Ethel Blake succeeded in kidnapping Dylan from his home in
Illinois 5 years after the initial attempt in Virginia, and have shown
little concern for the trauma that the abduction of Dylan has caused
their other grandchildren;
Whereas warrants for the arrest of Timothy and Ethel Blake on charges of
aggravated kidnapping, a felony, have been issued by the State of
Illinois and United States officials have filed a Hague Convention
petition for custody of Dylan on behalf of the Benwell family;
Whereas the Congress, in 1932, enacted the first Federal kidnapping statute, in
response to the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of Charles
Lindbergh;
Whereas the Congress recognizes the gravity of international child abduction and
enacted the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (adding
section 1204 to title 18, United States Code), the Parental Kidnapping
Prevention Act of 1980 (adding section 1738A to title 28, United States
Code, and section 463 to the Social Security Act), and substantial
reform and reporting requirements for the Department of State through
foreign relations authorization Acts for the fiscal years 1998 through
2001;
Whereas the United States is a contracting party to the Hague Convention, and
adopted effective implementing legislation in the International Child
Abduction Remedies Act (42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq.);
Whereas Ireland is a contracting party to the Hague Convention and adopted
legislation for the implementation of the Act under the Child Abduction
and Enforcement of Custody Orders Act (S.I. No. 235/1991); and
Whereas the Hague Convention establishes reciprocal rights and duties between
and among its contracting states to expedite the return of abducted
children to their states of habitual residence, and to ensure that the
custodial and parental access rights of one contracting state are
effectively respected in other contracting states: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) condemns the abduction of Dylan Benwell from his home in the
United States, the country of his custodial mother's domicile;
(2) commends the actions taken by the Office of Children's Issues of
the Department of State and the United States Embassy in Dublin,
Ireland;
(3) commends the hard work and dedication of the police department
of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, especially that of Detective Sergeant Tim
Borowski;
(4) calls on the Government of Ireland to recognize that the safety
and welfare of Dylan are the foremost concern;
(5) urges the Government of Ireland to recognize the decision of the
Virginia juvenile district court;
(6) calls upon the Government of Ireland to recognize that this
matter does not pertain to the custodial rights of Dylan's maternal
grandparents, a matter already decided by the courts, and instead
relates to a violation of United States law and the Hague Convention on
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, signed at The Hague
on October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (``Hague Convention'');
(7) urges the Government of Ireland not to reward or condone the
unlawful action of Timothy and Ethel Blake, two Irish nationals, by
keeping Dylan from his family; and
(8) urges the Government of Ireland to recognize that as a matter of
international law under Article 1 of the Hague Convention, the
Government of Ireland is required to secure the prompt return of Dylan,
on the basis that Dylan was wrongfully removed from his home in the
United States, a contracting state to the Convention.
Attest:
Clerk.