Roanoke attorney helps reunite mother and child in international kidnapping case

A series of events, beginning with the kidnapping of a newborn from her home in Mexico and culminating in a trial in The Hague, led to the fall of a lifetime for lawyer Vicki Francois.

After a father crossed state and federal borders to kidnap his six-month-old child earlier this year, Francois received a letter from the State Department. They contacted her on behalf of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, an authority that deals with cases of child abduction, particularly those that cross international borders.

Francois knew that this would not be a typical case.

According to Francois, father and mother moved to Mexico in March, where they shared an apartment until they separated in May. Although the mother continued to be the child’s primary caregiver, the father left with the child in June. By the time Mexican authorities issued an Amber Alert, the father and child were already back in the United States and on their way to Martinsville.

The day after the alleged kidnapping, the mother officially filed a criminal complaint in Mexico, which resulted in a felony warrant. When The Hague learned of the arrest warrant, they contacted the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Children’s Affairs on the mother’s behalf. The State Department began searching for appropriate legal representation and sent letters to Francois and other lawyers in the region.

“Typically, we write to lawyers from the Hague Convention all-volunteer lawyers network and inquire whether they would like to be included on a short list of lawyers that we send to the applicant,” reads part of the State Department’s letter to Francois. “Because we have a very limited network in the Martinsville area, we are writing to attorneys in the area.”

Francois has been a professional lawyer for 26 years. She was named one of the Most Influential Lawyers of 2021 by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.

Francois said the type of advocacy her firm practices and its relative proximity to Martinsville made it the ideal fit for the case. The Wiese Law Firm is multidisciplinary and handles both criminal and civil cases. She served as co-counsel with fellow Roanoke attorney John Johnson and agreed to represent the mother on a pro bono basis.

“Only one other lawyer responded [the mother]“Francois said. “This lawyer was in DC. They wanted an upfront fee of $25,000 to take on the case. Apparently my client didn’t have that much money to pay a lawyer.”

Francois said she doesn’t have much experience with Hague-related cases. She said although she had been offered an opportunity in the past, it had never become an actual case.

“I was contacted twice over the course of about six years,” Francois said. “The first case never came to fruition. We made initial contact, but nothing was ever submitted.” She was convinced that this opportunity would not arise again. Then the State Department sent its letter.

Their preparation work was over 50 hours.

“That’s a huge amount of time considering this all happened in just 20 calendar days,” Francois said. “And I still had all my other existing cases and clients to take care of during that time.”

Francois said the groundwork was worth it, citing her preparation for a case that she said didn’t have many twists or hiccups.

On August 1, the case ended after the judge ruled in the mother’s favor. While the father awaits extradition to Mexico to face child abduction charges, the mother was reunited with the child shortly after the trial. The couple had been separated for over a month.

“I had also purchased a child seat a few days in advance to ensure I could transport the child safely if I won,” Francois said. “Then after the court case we had to buy baby food, clothes and diapers because we literally left the court with only what the baby was wearing and his stroller.”

Francois said a bond developed between her and the mother during the case. There is a framed picture of a mother and child on her desk.

Both the mother and her younger brother lived with Francois during the trial, which, according to Francois, is not becoming a habit.

“They basically had no money and no place to stay,” Francois said. “So they stayed at my house for 12 days until the trial.”

Francois said she loved having the two of them as roommates.

“It was wild that mom and her 18-year-old younger brother lived with us for a week or two while awaiting trial,” Francois said. “We only had the baby with us for less than 24 hours. But we really enjoyed having her with us and it allowed me to learn more about the case and the environment this child would return to if we prevailed.”

She has kept in touch with the family, who are now back in Mexico, and says they are doing well.

Francois earned nothing from the case, and she added it was unlikely there would be any compensation from the case in the future. Although she doesn’t expect to try cases related to The Hague in the near future, she is open to the experience.

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