Child Recovery
The Child Recovery Unit (CRU) exists to enforce child custody and
visitation orders and to locate and return children who have been
maliciously taken or detained. It is our goal to help ensure peaceful
enforcement of court orders so that the children will enjoy a relationship
with both parties. We will help enforce existing orders.
Cases are divided into
three categories:
1. Abductions
2. Concealments
3. Visitations
If your child has been
abducted, the CRU can begin an investigation to locate the child
whether or not there was an order in place at the time of the abduction.
Concealment cases, or cases in which you are having a problem enforcing
visitation, can only be enforced if there is an existing court order.
If you are not satisfied with the present court order, you may take
the matter back to mediation and/or court.
In some cases, we will
criminally prosecute the other party. At no time is the District
Attorney representing either party as an individual. The District
Attorney represents the People of the State of California and/or
the Superior Court. Since we do not represent you, there is no attorney-client
relationship. Therefore, any information you provide the District
Attorney's Office is not confidential and may be subject to disclosure
pursuant to court rules or at the discretion of the staff of the
District Attorney's Office.
The following criminal
charges may be filed when a child is abducted by a parent or a visitation
order is violated:
Penal Code Section
278.5 (Deprivation of Custody) - This is used when one parent
deprives the other parent of their custodial right to the child.
It is punishable by up to one year in jail, OR 16 months, 2 years,
or 3 years in prison.
Penal Code Section
207(a) (Kidnapping) - This is used when a person forcibly
steals, takes, holds or detains any person in this state and carries
them into another country, state or county or into another part
of the same county. It is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for three, five or eight years. If the person kidnapped
is under 14 years of age at the time of the commission of the
crime, the kidnapping is punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for five, eight or eleven years.
Penal Code Section
166(a)(4) (Contempt of Court) - This may be used when a visitation
order is violated. It is punishable by up to six months in jail.
