Background

Anna’s mother Magali Urquizo Franco was living in the US on a student visa when we met. We had been dating for approximately three months and were not married when Magali announced she was pregnant. She requested $2,200 for an abortion, which I gave to her. She also asked for $1,500 for medical care for her sick father in Peru, which I also gave to her. (I later learned that her father had been deceased previously, and what Magali did with the money is unknown.)

When Magali had to return to Peru because her visa was expiring, we went to court to decide custody and visitation of Anna. The judge awarded Magali and I joint legal custody, and allowed Magali to return to Peru with Anna. The court ordered visitation two times per year: one week over Christmas and for the entire month of July. Magali was ordered to arrange and pay for all travel expenses. Anna’s maternal grandmother, Bertha Franco Soto, was designated to travel with Anna each way between Peru and Virginia.

For the next four years, from May 2017 until August 2021 Magali repeatedly refused to send Anna to visit (eight missed visits in total). She gave various excuses, primarily that her grandmother was “too old” to travel. Interestingly the same grandmother, Bertha Soto Franco, who was “too old” to accompany Anna in July 2017, travelled to Delaware and Virginia in the autumn of 2023 -- six years later -- where she was recorded on video dancing at a birthday party.

Airport Incident

In August 2021 after several complications, Anna was booked on a flight to visit for one month. Marlene Urquizo Franco, Anna’s aunt who resides with Anna, Anna's mother, and the grandmother, was to accompany Anna on her flight to and from the US.

My brother and I went to Dulles airport to meet Anna and bring her home. We saw Magali’s two sisters, Janeth McPeak and Monica Dobson, in the arrivals area and assumed they had come to take Marlene home with them. We all stood waiting for passengers to clear customs. When Anna came through the arrival gate, she immediately ran towards me, then jumped up for me to catch her as she wrapped her arms around me in a hug. It was very happy, joyous reunion – which sadly lasted only a few short minutes.

We collected luggage from the carousel and when I inquired which bag was Anna’s, Marlene informed me that their belongings and clothes were commingled in the same bags. I said that it was no problem and we could sort it out in the parking lot, as we began walking out of the terminal.

At that point the three sisters indicated that they intended to take Anna home with them, and that I might be allowed to see and visit with her in a few days. I explained that Anna was supposed to stay with me at my home for 30 days. I suggested that Anna’s stay could be extended to allow the aunts to visit with her. I also offered my permission for Anna to visit the US-based aunts and stay with them any other times her mother allowed.

Because I was not anticipating a confrontation, I had not printed out a copy of the visitation order. We stood outside in the parking lot for over an hour while I attempted to explain to Marlene, Janeth, and Monica that court-ordered parental visitation meant I was supposed to have that time with my daughter for the one-month duration specified by the court -- but I would not object to them changing Anna’s ticket to allow her to remain in the US with her aunts after my visitation period concluded.

Finally, after 1:00 am and with negotiations at an impasse, I announced that my brother and I were taking my daughter and leaving. Anna had been standing with us, and I picked her up over my shoulder and began to walk towards my vehicle. As I took a couple steps away, I heard Anna cry out. I stopped and saw that Marlene had tied the strap of her own backpack to Anna’s wrist which caused her arm to be jerked when I started walking away. The strap was not attached when we left the terminal so Marlene must have tied it during the time we stood talking outside in the dark.

After untying the strap, my brother and I proceeded with Anna to my vehicle. The three aunts, Janeth, Monica, and Marlene, were following behind us, screaming all the while. As my brother and I got into my vehicle with Anna, Marlene grabbing onto Anna and began a violent tug-of-war, trying to physically pull Anna out. Monica and Janeth were standing behind my vehicle preventing me from backing up.

Throughout this confrontation I had resisted calling the police because I did not want to create legal difficulties for the aunts, particularly Marlene, who was a non-citizen. Ultimately having no other options, my brother called the police. When the police arrived, I showed them the visitation order on my phone. I declined to file a criminal complaint, so the police simply took statements and allowed my brother and I to depart with Anna.

Visitation

I had already prepared a room for Anna and had taken a court-approved parenting class. As we did not have Anna’s luggage, my brother and I took Anna to the store to buy her clothes, hairbrushes, and other supplies. Anna selected her wardrobe in the little girls’ department

Anna stayed with me for a month. It was wonderful to be with my daughter and we tried to make the most of our time together. We travelled to the mountains, went canoeing, visited museums, parks, caverns, went skiing at the indoor ski facility in New Jersey, and went to stay with my mother for three days. We also taught Anna to swim in my neighbor’s pool. Throughout her visit, the only times Anna showed signs of significant unhappiness was when she spoke with her mother, Magali, on the phone. Magali repeatedly told Anna that if she had gone home with her aunts she would have gone to Disney World. During one conversation Magali told Anna to pack her clothes and go outside to wait for someone to pick her up, and she attempted to do so. Magali called the local Fairfax County police at least six times, forcing them to come to my house for a welfare check.

Because the Virginia school year was starting, I took Anna for a reading assessment and enrolled her in elementary school, which she attended for one week and enjoyed. I also took her to my orthodontist, who recommended she come back in a couple years for a reassessment and treatment.

Return to Peru

Upon the advice of my attorney who warned that if Anna returned to Peru I would never see her again, I filed an emergency custody motion and a motion to modify custody, but the court ruled that Anna should to return to Peru. At the hearing, held on a Friday morning, the judge ordered Magali to purchase a flight directly to Peru, leaving on the next day. The judge specifically ordered that there would be no side trips to Disney or other detours. Despite those clear instructions, Janeth, Monica, and Marlene, with all their children in tow, took Anna to Kings Dominion the next day, having booked her flight for the following Monday and with a long layover in Miami.

Custody Award and criminal charges

Magali subsequently refused to send Anna to visit for Christmas 2021 and for her summer visit in July 2022. Magali told me on the phone and in email that Anna would never live with me, and would never love me. Magali also threatened to interfere with my employment and government security clearance.

In July of 2022 after numerous hearings and delays, the Fairfax County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court awarded full legal and physical custody of Anna to me. The judge noted it was one of the most egregious cases she had ever seen. The court also ordered Magali to pay part of my legal fees. When Magali refused to comply with the order to return Anna, the Commonwealth of Virginia issued a felony child abduction warrant.

Magali’s accident

In 2022, Magali apparently experienced a traumatic brain injury in an auto accident. Her family did not disclose this to me and I only discovered it through an Internet search which uncovered newspaper articles from Peru describing the accident.

In January 2023, I discovered that Monica Dobson initiated a GoFundMe fundraising appeal for Magali. In the text of the appeal, Monica stated: “We hope someday that Magali can resume raising her young daughter and caring for herself again.” It is noteworthy that Magali did not have legal custody of Anna and hence had no right to “resume” raising Anna. The court ruling only permitted Magali to have supervised visitation, and only within the state of Virginia. Monica’s husband Michael Dobson donated to the fundraiser also.

Grandmother and protective order

In 2024, the FBI alerted me that Anna’s grandmother in Peru, Bertha Franco Soto, had initiated legal proceedings in Peru to obtain guardianship of Anna. The grandmother claimed that Magali was incapacitated and she (Bertha) was caring for Anna. The FBI also informed me that Magali had obtained some sort of protective order against me in Peru, having made false allegations that I had “abused” Anna while she was in the US.

Death

In January 2025, the FBI informed me that they had received a death certificate for Magali in response to a documents request. Internet research revealed Magali had indeed passed away on December 14, 2024.

Curiously, Magali’s family did not communicate with me about her death or Anna’s status.

Hague Convention

On the recommendation of the US Department of State Office of Children’s Issues, I filed an application seeking custody of Anna under the Hague Abduction Convention. The State Department forwarded my application to the Peruvian Central Authority. However, the Peruvian Central Authority declined to take action, stating that given the time Anna had been living in Peru it was her habitual residence.

Remote location

Anna is reportedly in Andahuaylas, a remote region of the Andes for which the U.S. Department of State had issued a Level 4 “Do Not Travel” advisory due to drug trafficking, criminal activity, and terrorism. Thus, I have not been able to visit Anna, nor are representatives of the Embassy permitted to travel to her to check on her welfare. Additionally, lawyers have strongly advised me not to set foot in Peru at the risk of criminal and/or civil action.

Sighting

In July 2024 Monica Dobson, Anna's aunt in Delaware, uploaded a recent photo of herself with Anna in Cusco, Peru. The location of the photo is approximately 5.5 hours by car or 6 hours by bus from where Anna is purportedly living.

Anna’s grandmother, Bertha Franco Soto, and Monica Dobson frequently travel back and forth between Peru and Delaware and Virginia. Anna likely has a Peruvian passport. Thus it is conceivable that Anna’s familly could bring her to the US without informing me.

Marlene

Last year, the FBI informed me that Marlene has filed for custody of Anna in Peru. Nevertheless, it appears that Marlene and her grandmother are in violation of 18 US Code Section 1204, which states "Whoever removes a child from the United States, or attempts to do so, or retains a child (who has been in the United States) outside the United States with intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 3 years, or both."