Trans Father Kidnaps 10 Year Old Son, Flees to Cuba for Gender Surgery Before FBI Rescue
Utah trans parent and partner face federal kidnapping charges after taking 10 year old boy to Cuba for alleged gender reassignment surgery.
Trans Parent and Partner Face Federal Kidnapping Charges After Taking 10 Year Old Boy to Cuba for Alleged Gender Reassignment Surgery
A Utah couple has been arrested on federal kidnapping charges after allegedly taking a 10 year old boy to Cuba for what the child's family feared was gender reassignment surgery, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Rose Inessa Ethington, 42, also known as Eri Ethington, the child's biological father who identifies as transgender, and partner Blue Inessa Ethington, 32, also known as Carly Ann Crosby, were deported from Cuba on April 21, 2026, with assistance from the FBI.
The couple had told the child's mother they were taking the boy, along with Blue's 3 year old child, on a camping trip to Canada beginning March 28. According to federal court documents, the group never checked in to their hotel in Calgary, Alberta, or the campground where they were scheduled to stay for five days.
Instead, the complaint alleges the couple crossed into Canada, flew from Vancouver to Mexico City, then traveled from Merida to Havana on April 1. The 10 year old was expected to be returned to his biological mother on April 3, but the group had not been heard from since March 28.
We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the mother.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak made that statement following the arrests.
The child's family had previously expressed concern that the boy had been influenced by his father to identify as female. They feared the purpose of the trip was to obtain gender reassignment surgery for the child before puberty, a procedure that would be irreversible.
A Utah court granted the mother exclusive custody on April 13 while the couple was still in Cuba. Cuban law enforcement located the group on April 16, and they were subsequently deported with FBI assistance. Both Rose and Blue Inessa Ethington have been charged with international parental kidnapping and aiding and abetting.
Utah Couple Charged With International Kidnapping After Allegedly Fleeing to Cuba With Child for Gender Surgery
The Trump administration deployed a U.S. government plane to Cuba to bring the child home safely. The FBI worked in coordination with Cuban authorities to locate the family and facilitate their return.
The case highlights growing national concerns about parental rights, child safeguarding, and the legal boundaries surrounding so called gender affirming care for minors. Under federal law, international parental kidnapping carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The case echoes a 2020 California custody dispute in which a father lost custody of his son after objecting to the child receiving hormone treatments. Legal experts say these cases raise difficult questions about the intersection of parental rights, child welfare, and the growing debate over medical interventions for minors who identify as transgender.
The Crusader's Opinion
A 10 year old boy. Kidnapped by his own father. Smuggled through three countries. All so an adult could impose an irreversible, life altering surgery on a child who cannot legally consent to getting a tattoo, let alone having his body permanently mutilated. This is not healthcare. This is child abuse dressed in ideological clothing. When a society cannot protect its youngest and most vulnerable from being carved up on the altar of gender ideology, that society has lost its moral compass entirely. Thank God the FBI intervened. Every child deserves to be shielded from adults who would sacrifice a child's body and future on the altar of their own delusions.
Take Action
- Contact your U.S. Senators and Representatives and urge them to support stronger federal protections for children against irreversible medical procedures. Find your representatives at congress.gov.
- Support organizations fighting to protect children from harmful gender ideology. Consider donating to The Shepherd's Shield, which advocates for the protection of vulnerable communities.
- Pray for this child's full recovery, both physically and emotionally, and for the mother who fought to protect her son.
- Share this story widely. Every share brings awareness to what is happening to children.
- Support Alliance Defending Freedom, which provides legal resources for parents fighting to protect their children from gender ideology in custody disputes.
