Couple accused of kidnapping child to Cuba for feared gender reassignment, DOJ says

A Utah couple is accused of kidnapping a 10-year-old child and taking them to Cuba for what family members believed was an effort to have the child undergo gender reassignment surgery, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Rose Inessa-Ethington, who is the child’s biological father, and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington, were arrested by the FBI and are facing federal kidnapping charges, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah. Rose, 42, shares custody with the child’s biological mother, who is only identified as “LB” in federal court filings. Rose transitioned to female after the child’s birth, according to her family members.

According to court documents, Rose and Blue, 32, were supposed to take the child to Canada, along with Blue’s 3-year-old child, for a planned camping trip, but never checked in to their hotel in Calgary, Alberta, or the campground they were scheduled to stay at for five days. The 10-year-old was expected to be returned to the biological mother on April 3, but the group had not been heard from since March 28.

Instead, they allegedly flew from Vancouver to Mexico City, and then boarded a flight to Havana, according to the criminal complaint.

The 10-year-old was described in the filing as a “biological male who identifies as a female.”

“Concerns existed that the child was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty,” the FBI said, citing concerns expressed by family members who they say blamed Rose for manipulating the child to identify as a girl.

Police in Utah and FBI began investigating and a search of Rose and Blue’s residence revealed “numerous ‘to-do’ lists” that allegedly included: “learn Spanish,” information on flights to Canada, Mexico and Cuba, “putting items in storage,” plans to obtain tourist visas and reminder a to “empty USU bank.”

Authorities also alleged to have found notes with instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., related to “gender affirming medical care for children” and a request to send the therapist $10,000.

On April 13, a Utah State Court ordered the 10-year-old to be returned to the child’s biological mother immediately and granted the mother exclusive custody of the child, the Justice Department said. Three days later, Cuban law enforcement located the group on the island.

The child was recovered “safely,” the news release states. The New York Times reports the child was in the custody of the biological mother on Tuesday.

“We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the biological mother,” Melissa Holyoak, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Utah, said in a news release.

Rose and Blue were deported from Cuba on Monday and taken to Richmond, Virginia, by the FBI, the Justice Department said. They were arraigned on charges of international parental kidnapping and aiding and abetting.

The two women will be extradited to Utah to face charges in Salt Lake City.

Tess Davis, a lawyer representing the child’s biological mother, told the Times that the transition surgery was a continuing issue during the divorce process.

“I don’t think she ever imagined that Rose could do this until it was too late,” Davis told the outlet. “She was worried about never seeing her child again.”