Australian Federal Police announced in a press conference earlier that they had busted a clandestine parental abduction group.

 

Two-year investigation

The initial investigation commenced two years ago, to locate two parentally abducted children. In the course of that investigation, authorities identified a number of patterns and links between cases of missing children, suggesting that they may have been enabled or supported by a similar group.

Investigators exposed a group with a core of about 10 individuals across the country allegedly organising and financing an abduction syndicate which assisted in the parental abduction of children contravening family law orders. Utilising an extensive network across the country, the group then actively concealed the children from authorities, sometimes for years.

AFP Assistant Commissioner Debbie Platz, Assistant Commissioner of Crime Operations, said at a televised press conference that the people involved with the syndicate demonstrated a complete disregard for decisions of the courts.

 

"Investigators believe this group has sought assistance from other people – some who may be unaware of their involvement in criminal activity. Anyone anyone with any knowledge about these activities is urged to come forward to the AFP.”

 

The group is also believed to have international connections in NZ and South Africa. Leads will be followed up in these countries.

“During this two-year investigation, 10 missing children have been safely located in the custody of a parent who has abducted them. Five of these are believed to be linked to this group of people," said Commander Platz.

“The actions of this group do not protect children. What it does is potentially endanger the safety and wellbeing of them,” she said.

Conspiracy to defeat justice carries a maximum jail sentence of 10 years. "Being dissatisfied with the outcome of Family Court rulings is no excuse for a group of vigilantes taking the law into their own hands", she added.

 

Four people arrested in three states

So far, four people across the country have been charged with organising and financing an abduction syndicate which allegedly assisted in the parental abduction of children in breach of Family Court orders.

Two Grafton men, a Townsville man and a woman from Perth have been charged over their role in the syndicate, which allegedly helped two separate mothers abduct and hide their children.

All the children involved have since been safely located by the AFP.

Dr William Russell Massingham Pridgeon, a Grafton GP and the founder of the Australian Anti-Paedophile Party, was one of the four people arrested.

It is alleged the GP was one of the main providers of finance and a key organiser of efforts assisting the two women and concealing them from authorities and the children's fathers.

 

Dr Pridgeon has been charged with conspiring to defeat justice and dealing in the proceeds of crime worth $100,000 or more.

A second Grafton man, Patrick O'Dea, was allegedly a co-organiser of the scheme, who provided money and led campaigns on social media and other public forums to vigorously portray the fathers of the abducted children as child abusers.

Mr O'Dea has also been charged with conspiring to defeat justice, using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence and publish an account of proceedings, contrary to the Family Law Act 1975. Both men will face Grafton Local court.

Australian Federal police reported that the allegations against the fathers had been followed up and investigated by the appropriate authorities and could not be substantiated.

 

 

An 83-year-old Townsville man was charged for allegedly assisting the two Grafton men.

The Townsville man was also charged with a range of offences, including dealing in the proceeds of crime and aiding and abetting the publication of an account of legal proceedings.

He also appeared before Townsville Local Court.

A 78-year-old Perth woman, Patricia Ann Plaistead, was also charged but apparently remains at large.

 

Ringleader thanks police

Outside court, Dr Pridgeon, the main ringleader and alleged financier thanked the police for their courtesy and kindness in relaxing his bail conditions.

“I’m looking very forward to the truth of this matter coming out because the crimes involved here are horrendous, OK, and the crimes have been covered up by many people who shouldn’t have,” Pridgeon told reporters.

“I’m looking forward to exposing that and I intend to.”

He is disputing two counts of conspiracy to defeat justice and dealing in the proceeds of crime to the value $100,000, along with two counts of child stealing and unlawful stalking.

Lawyer Andrew Owens, who also represents O’Dea, said the accused were merely a bunch of like-minded people wanting to make things right.

“They’ve got to bide their time and have their day in court but it will come out eventually, the situation, and not what has been portrayed,” he told reporters outside court.

 

How did they do it?

The group is said to have used a variety of encrypted phone messaging apps to communicate with each other and plan the alleged abductions and subsequent scheme to hide the children.

Women wishing to use the service had seemingly found the group through word of mouth through an active group of like-minded people, unhappy with the outcomes of orders from the Family Court.

The children’s identity was changed by dying their hair and changing their names and birth dates. The mothers and children moved regularly and were supported by a network of people who provided food and shelter as well as cash to ensure they were not traced by way of their banking transactions.

People who have previously used the network were often called on to assist others with supplies and finances.

It is believed that some people who have assisted with food, accommodation and donations may have done so thinking they were supporting a charitable cause, completely unaware of the criminality.

 

Yacht to ferry children overseas

Police revealed the group was fitting out a yacht based in Fremantle, Western Australia and had concocted plans to use the yacht to potentially convey children from Fremantle to Tasmania and possibly on to New Zealand. However, police discovered no firm plans relating to any specific children.

It was reported in The Courier-Mail that one of the men involved had taken sailing lessons and spent $140,000 to buy and fit-out the yacht, with plans to sail it to Tasmania "to help mothers and their children start a new life in New Zealand or Zimbabwe".

 

Ongoing investigations

It is understood authorities have reason to believe the group has assisted in other cases of child abduction, prior to those that are the subject of the charges.

Investigations continue to locate a number of long-term missing children who were believed to have been snatched by a parent.

The AFP can’t discount the possibility children are still hidden and further arrests cannot be ruled out.

 

 

MORE READING:
Changing a child's surname: What does the court consider?

Can one parent legally change a child's surname?

Common Signs of Early Childhood Sexual Abuse

Why Some Children Confess to Abuse that Never Happened

Should coercive control and parental alienation in family matters be a criminal offence?

 

 

Published by, Christine Weston
Founding Director and Creator of Divorce Resource
Australian Nationally Accredited Mediator and Divorce Coach

 

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