Thank You!

Recently, there have been false allegations made by a few disingenuous individuals who have knowingly made wrongful claims that my child was not abducted and that I stated I was a left behind parent in order to promote the upcoming book that will be released.

These same individuals have also claimed that I have been advocating for laws on child abduction in order to promote my upcoming book.

Their statements are not accurate and were purposefully made to advance their own gain and interest.

So many of you have contacted me and shared your support of all the good things I have and will continue to accomplish. Thank you.

I think that many of you will be please to know that today, I have commenced serious legal action against these individuals.

Unfortunately, my child was abducted, and the international courts did order for his return, where I had sole custody of his welfare. I have provided a recent copy issued by the US Department of State in support of this on this website (click here) as well as a copy of a letter from the Canadian Central Authority, which also confirms that my child was abducted and a return Order was granted under the rules of the Hague Convention (click here). All of this can be found at www.chasingthecyclone.com

In addition, during the time leading up and during my child's abduction, I was not immune to false allegations and slander that nearly every left behind parent faces. As the act of international parental child abduction is a premeditated act well planned in advance of the act itself, the defamation against my character was purposefully initiated in preparation for the abduction that would take place. And then of course, during the the long and drawn-out proceedings that occurred I was further slandered all in the name of having the abducting party attempt to sanction their behavior. Tragically, it is a common event for a left behind parent to be slandered. Nevertheless, I am here to say that IPCA is a nightmare for all parties involved, and it is critical that all chld abductions are prevented.

Now, with respect to my activism in Florida to assist raise awareness of the issues of international parental child abduction, I am very proud of the fact that this splendid law that Carolyn Vlk wrote and Representative Rouson sponsored was passed unanimously by all Senate and House committees, was unanimously passed on both the Senate and House floor votes, and then signed by Governor Crist. The fact that this bill was unanimously passed represents the knew understandings that policymakers are beginning to have. Without question, it is only through awareness and education that the children of our nation will have laws such as the Child Abduction Prevention Act passed. Personally, this was a very important law since I know that if laws such as this were in place before I began to chase into the cyclones of international child abduction, then the chicanary that occurred before the courts - which was realized, but a bit too late - would never have occurred. So I know just how important child abduction prevention laws are. I hope in the future other left-behind parents who live in states where potential new child abduction laws are being created will decide to step forward more actively and support these new legislations by advocating in their state capitols. When Carolyn Ann Vlk initially contacted me via email about the Florida legislation and after discussing with Carolyn how there was little awareness of the bill. So I felt it necessary to assist her best I could, and this included not only flying in from Los Angeles to spend a day in Tallahassee, but I also arranged for the airline ticket for another person to attend one of the hearings when I was unable to. On this note, I would like to thank my many friends from around the country and asked them to contact the state's various legislators. You did - and it did make a hugh difference. Thank you.

In addition, I invite you to look around the www.chasingthecyclone.com website. There you will find one of the most comprehensive and up-to-date websites on international parental child abduction. And though this site is titled after the upcoming book, it really is a metaphor for all left-behind parents who must race into the storms of child abduction. Staying true to this issue, the vast majority of the information presented there deals with real issues while trying to offer some sound advice and resources for those who may need access to them.

International Parental Child Abduction is a horrible event for all involved. It is a shame that there exists individuals such as those who have attempted to defame me in order to monitize and advance their own agenda.

I would like to thank my many friends who have reached out to my with a willingness to assist in any way I need. As I stated to each of you, as I have commenced various legal proceedings against those individuals who have purposeful breached many laws, I will let the legal actions I have commenced speak for me.

Once again, thank you for your support.

Peter Thomas Senese

Florida Child Abduction Prevention Act Now LAW

It is official! Late this afternoon in Tallahassee, Florida Governor Crist officially signed the landmark ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ into law. The ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ will go into effect on January 1st, 2011.



Championed by Representative Darryl Rouson (D- St. Petersburg), the groundbreaking legislation that is now law will provide the Florida courts the responsibility to assess risk factors associated with a potential parental child abduction and further allows for judges overseeing high-risk cases of potential abduction to issue court orders that will prevent a child’s abduction from occurring.



Representative Darryl Rouson issued the following statement immediately following Governor Crist’s signing moments ago, “I am extremely pleased to announce that as of today, my dream and goal of creating law that would help prevent our state’s children from experiencing the nightmare of child abduction is now a reality. As abduction cases in our state and the nation continue to increase at alarming and unprecedented levels, it has become apparent that the combative way to prevent this epidemic from spreading was to create a sweeping law that will aid the courts in protecting our children. The ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ certainly does this. I would like to thank Governor Crist and all of my fellow lawmakers, including child advocate Senator Eleanor Sobel, for realizing the importance of this law. The significance of this new law in Florida should be a lesson for all states presently considering child abduction prevention legislation; it is critical to the children of every state to have preventive laws in place that will protect their well being. I would also like to thank Carolyn Ann Vlk, the astute writer of the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ for her tremendous leadership in writing such a sweeping law, and, I would like to also acknowledge Peter Thomas Senese for his substantial advocacy in support of our state’s new law. Today is a great day for the children of Florida.”



Senator Eleanor Sobel (D- Fort Lauderdale) previously stated, “Abductions are incredibly damaging and can haunt a child for the rest of their lives. This new law will keep Florida’s children safe from these potentially devastating experiences… abductions out of the state or the country can be extremely harmful to children. It is also nearly impossible to locate and return a child who has been taken to a foreign country. The safest and most cost effective approach is to simply prevent an abduction.” Florida’s new law does exactly that.



Peter Thomas Senese, the author of the highly anticipated book on international parental child abduction titled ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ and one of the lead child abduction prevention advocates who actively championed for the passage of the legislation into law added, “Child abduction prevention laws such as Florida’s breakthrough ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ are the lines of first defense against the pandemic of abduction sweeping our nation and the world. There are many unique components that make the legislation that Carolyn Ann Vlk wrote that Florida’s legislative branch and Governor Crist enthusiastically supported that is best measured by the unprecedented and historical act that this bill was unanimously passed into law. One of the unprecedented components of this law that uniquely stands out is that courts now have the opportunity to seek the assistance of the Department of Homeland Securities’ ‘Prevent Departure Program’ that is implemented via the Department of State in potential international child abduction cases. So in a certain sense, the Florida law, in my eyes, is actually the implementation of two laws: one is a new state law, and the second is for more awareness and use of a present federal law few individuals are aware exists.



“Now with the passage of this historic law, I hope that other states, including California and New York will update or pass new legislation that will protect our nation’s children from abduction. According to an extensive report on abduction trends Carolyn Ann Vlk and I recently released titled, ‘International Parental Child Abduction: Crisis In America’, our study’s findings demonstrated unequivocally an increased threat of abduction due to many tangible factors including economic hardship and increases in immigration population to our country. Child abduction prevention laws in all states are critical, and I was happy to play my role alongside the fine lawmakers in the state and one of our nation’s great child advocates, Carolyn Ann Vlk.”



Carolyn Ann Vlk, the author of the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ stated, “Words cannot express the myriad of emotions I am experiencing at this historical moment in Florida State history. My dream of creating a comprehensive legislation to protect children from abduction is now a reality. My heart is filled with gratitude towards the many people whom have made this moment possible. First and foremost on behalf of the children and families of Florida I would like to express my deepest gratitude to State Representative Darryl E. Rouson, District 55. I first met with Representative Rouson in 2007 and relayed my family’s story and concerns that my child was at risk of being abducted. I shared my insight that our current laws were lacking reliable risk assessment and preventive measures to prevent the unspeakable tragedy of child abduction. Representative Rouson immediately offered to help in any way possible and has been a staunch children's advocate and a driving force leading the way for Florida to set the precedent for other states to follow. Henry Moseley, legislative aide to the Representative has been an invaluable and constant source of information and assistance throughout this entire process. I feel honored to have worked with Senator Eleanor Sobel who was the Senate sponsor of our bill. Senator Sobel has had a long and illustrious political career and her advocacy on behalf of our state’s children was undeniable. Thanks also go out to her legislative aide, Nick Matthews, whose political knowledge and expertise was invaluable in this process. To all the Senators and Representatives who unanimously voted YES on this vital piece of legislation, I thank you.



“And to Governor Charlie Crist, thank you Governor, for recognizing that our children need to be protected and for taking this issue seriously and acting proactively to better protect our precious citizens.



“What began as purely a personal issue and an innate desire to protect my own child morphed into the ‘Florida Child Abduction Prevention Act’. As I researched this issue, I found it difficult to believe that so many children were either at extreme risk of abduction, or worse, had already been abducted. I felt that my advocacy needed to extend beyond making sure my own child was protected and thus I began the writing of this bill.



“I would also like to express my most sincere thanks to author Peter Thomas Senese, a successful chasing parent who has actively and tirelessly advocated along with me. Peter has traveled from Los Angeles to Florida on several occasions, providing important testimony before the State legislators. He substantially raised the bar of awareness and understanding on this issue before our lawmakers, and he raised the profile of how important and significant an issue child abduction really is. Florida resident, Captain William Lake, whose own daughter Mary remains criminally abducted in Japan, also provided invaluable testimony in front of State legislators. And due to Peter Thomas Senese’s assistance, Ken Connelly, who was abducted as a child also provided testimony in front of our policy makers. I also would like to thank my family, for the love and support they have provided throughout this journey, I am forever indebted.



“My greatest desire has been to significantly reduce the number of children that are abducted and I believe that will be achieved through proper risk assessment and the implementation of preventive measures within our family court system. Indeed this is a monumental day for the great State of Florida now that the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ is law.”