Help Secure Custody for My Son

Campaign Title: Help Secure Custody for My Son

Hello,

My name is Elizabeth Rosnel and I have known all parties involved since shortly after the child’s birth. I raised my older son as a single mother and my younger son in a supportive marriage. May this fundraiser serve to protect the bond between a son and his father. This photo represents the last time this father saw his son.

The father, Seth Kutzen states:

"Let us remember: A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on." - Winston Churchill

For those who know me as an honest and devoted father, please read on:

My last interaction with my son was three months ago in Santa Cruz, California. I sensed something was amiss when he left, prompting me to take legal action and certify our custody arrangement in California which stipulates 50/50 joint physical, legal, medical, and material custody.

On August 21, 2023, I received an email from his other parent stating that they, my son, and others in Ohio were afraid of me, thus denying me access to him. This is despite not having seen or spoken to his other parent in over two years.

Nevertheless, on August 23rd, I traveled to Columbus to see my son off to middle school and give him his belated 12th birthday present (his birthday was on 8/9). There was no confirmation of him receiving the gift, and no communication from him. The post office attempted to deliver the package on 8/3 and 8/7 without success, holding it for me to deliver personally.

During this time, I discovered that his other parent had spread damaging falsehoods about me, labeling me a "psychopath," "child molester," and claiming that I, a Jewish man from Brooklyn, had deceived the Jewish community in Columbus.

In Ohio, I attempted to visit my son six times with the Columbus police enforcing the custody orders. Eventually, it was revealed that his other parent had relocated to an undisclosed location with their current partner. The police refused to investigate, deeming it a custody matter and directed me to handle it through lawyers and the California court. The Columbus Gifted Academy and the Columbus School System also denied me access, citing the letter of the law.

I then sought assistance from the Franklin County prosecutor, who provided the same advice: return to California and re-file legal papers where custody was determined.. Before leaving Ohio, after a fruitless week of searching, I attempted to contact his other parent at her workplace, where the police reported that co-workers and security guards claimed she was "afraid" of me and had left. They issued a report. Four police reports in Ohio now document "interference of custody visitation."

I exhausted all my savings (over $10,000) and personal funds ($5,000) attempting to see my son in Ohio, hiring a Private Investigator and Process Server, and a lawyer to locate them and serve legal documents. I am pleading for support to uphold the shared custody agreement in California.

To clarify, I do not wish to deprive my son of his other parent's presence. However, it is evident that maintaining a meaningful relationship with my son will entail a challenging and costly legal battle.

I have passed the first legal hurdle on 9/29/2023, as the judge in CA acknowledged the same information I received from Columbus authorities: that 50/50 custody was violated in Ohio and remains enforceable only in California. However, his other parent has engaged “fighting” lawyers in both Ohio and California, alleging "domestic violence" on my part and claiming that my son no longer wishes to see me.

The next court date is in California on 11/22 which will likely determine the future of my relationship with my son. I need your help to counter his other parent's attempts to transfer the case to Ohio. If she succeeds, I risk losing all chance of being in my son's life, as she has made Columbus an unsafe place for me and has influenced my son against me with the help of collaborators.

When the other parent became pregnant, she told me, "You can leave. I want to be a single parent." I failed to grasp the gravity of her statement at the time. How could a parent wish for their child to grow up without a father or mother? Now, I understand her consistent desire for single parenthood and for sole control over our child for more than 13 years.

In response to my plea for California to uphold 50/50 custody, she has falsely accused me of "domestic violence." This is untrue, and there is no record or no witness anywhere of me being "violent" or "abusive." Her repeated use of false allegations has been a successful tactic in the past. I need your support to navigate this web of falsehoods, secure my place in my son's life, and ensure he benefits from having both parents.

My son has been alienated and estranged from me, and his other parent's current partner has helped make him unreachable to those who care about him, all while influencing him to believe I am a "dangerous" person. Undoing this influence will require great effort and strong support, starting with the legal process. My son deserves to have both parents in his life.

Please contribute to this fundraiser to help secure the best possible outcome for my son. His Bar Mitzvah is approaching, with preparations underway in Ohio without my involvement. His other parent is not Jewish. I hope to bring him back to California for his Bar Mitzvah in Santa Cruz in August 2024.

Thank you for reading and considering how you can assist us in this crucial time.