A British mum who left her ex-wife for her sperm donor and took her two kids on the run has walked free. Teacher Lauren Etchells, 33, last month pleaded guilty of risking the lives of her two children when she took them across the English Channel on a dinghy. Etchells left her ex-wife, Tasha Brown, 45, then went on the run in Europe for nearly three years after defying a court order barring her from taking the girl out of Canada. She took their daughter, then aged 19 months, and fled with the couple's sperm donor Michael van der Merwe, and the newborn son she had with him. Etchells evaded capture for three years despite Interpol issuing a Red Notice. The authorities caught up with Etchells, her parents and her two children when they came ashore on Jersey in the Channel Islands shortly after landing an inflatable dignity. Their efforts to deceive immigration staff failed, and the trio were arrested. Etchells, originally from South Shields, and her parents Brian and Angela Etchells, both 68, have today been sentenced with child neglect over the incident. Etchells was found guilty and convicted of exposing a child to risk of harm and making a false representation under immigration law. Her parents were each found guilty of charges of aid and abetting exposing a child to risk of harm and making a false representation under immigration law. Etchells gave birth to the girl after she and Brown used a sperm donor. The pair, who married in Canada in 2012, were raising their daughter on Vancouver Island when the relationship soured. A court had ordered Etchells, a dual British-Canadian citizen, to surrender their daughter’s British passport, and barred her from applying for a Canadian one for the girl, or from leaving Vancouver Island. But Etchells allegedly lied to Canadian passport officials to obtain a passport for her daughter, then boarded a flight to London Gatwick in September 2016 with the child, Mr van der Merwe and their newborn son. Etchells' former wife reported her daughter missing, sparking a worldwide search for the pair. At some point in their journey, Etchells separated from Mr van der Merwe too. The search for Etchells and her daughter finally came to an end last July when the mum and her two children arrived ashore in Jersey on a 13-ft dinghy on Jersey with her parents. The court today heard Etchells had taken her children from England, France, the Netherlands, the Middle East and possibly to Spain and Portugal. Assistant magistrate Peter Harris said: "These were rather unique circumstances which are unlikely to be repeated. "Together they were using Jersey in an attempt to avoid compliance with a Canadian court order." He acknowledged the efforts made to reduce the risk of harm to the children, and that no harm was actually sustained. But he added: "The waters around Jersey can be very dangerous. "Both children were exposed to a risk of harm." Mr Harris told Etchells and her parents that he viewed their condu
Mum who risked kids' lives taking them across English Channel walks free
A British mum who left her ex-wife for her sperm donor and took her two kids on the run has walked free. Teacher Lauren Etchells, 33, last month pleaded guilty of risking the lives of her two children when she took them across the English Channel on a dinghy. Etchells left her ex-wife, Tasha Brown, 45, then went on the run in Europe for nearly three years after defying a court order barring her from taking the girl out of Canada. She took their daughter, then aged 19 months, and fled with the couple's sperm donor Michael van der Merwe, and the newborn son she had with him. Etchells evaded capture for three years despite Interpol issuing a Red Notice. The authorities caught up with Etchells, her parents and her two children when they came ashore on Jersey in the Channel Islands shortly after landing an inflatable dignity. Their efforts to deceive immigration staff failed, and the trio were arrested. Etchells, originally from South Shields, and her parents Brian and Angela Etchells, both 68, have today been sentenced with child neglect over the incident. Etchells was found guilty and convicted of exposing a child to risk of harm and making a false representation under immigration law. Her parents were each found guilty of charges of aid and abetting exposing a child to risk of harm and making a false representation under immigration law. Etchells gave birth to the girl after she and Brown used a sperm donor. The pair, who married in Canada in 2012, were raising their daughter on Vancouver Island when the relationship soured. A court had ordered Etchells, a dual British-Canadian citizen, to surrender their daughter’s British passport, and barred her from applying for a Canadian one for the girl, or from leaving Vancouver Island. But Etchells allegedly lied to Canadian passport officials to obtain a passport for her daughter, then boarded a flight to London Gatwick in September 2016 with the child, Mr van der Merwe and their newborn son. Etchells' former wife reported her daughter missing, sparking a worldwide search for the pair. At some point in their journey, Etchells separated from Mr van der Merwe too. The search for Etchells and her daughter finally came to an end last July when the mum and her two children arrived ashore in Jersey on a 13-ft dinghy on Jersey with her parents. The court today heard Etchells had taken her children from England, France, the Netherlands, the Middle East and possibly to Spain and Portugal. Assistant magistrate Peter Harris said: "These were rather unique circumstances which are unlikely to be repeated. "Together they were using Jersey in an attempt to avoid compliance with a Canadian court order." He acknowledged the efforts made to reduce the risk of harm to the children, and that no harm was actually sustained. But he added: "The waters around Jersey can be very dangerous. "Both children were exposed to a risk of harm." Mr Harris told Etchells and her parents that he viewed their condu
0 Comments