The FBI “acted quickly,” said director Kash Patel, after a trans-identifying Utah father and his partner took the father’s child to Cuba with the intent to have the minor boy undergo a sex change. “Excellent work from
FBISaltLakeCity FBIRichmond and our brilliant CIRG squads who executed brilliantly. The child is now safely home,” Patel said.

The trans-identified father are alleged to have kidnapped his 10-year-old child after which they took him to Cuba for sex change surgery. The child’s biological mother was not informed, according to a press release from the Department of Justice, who was told instead that they were all going on a trip to Canada.
 

Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, of Cache County, the child’s biological father, born as Eric, was federally charged with international parental kidnapping, along with his partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington, 32, formerly known as Carly Ann Crosby.

According to federal prosecutors, the couple failed to return the child to his biological mother after skipping out on a planned March 28 camping trip in Canada. The male child, who allegedly identifies as female, was taken by Rose and Blue to Mexico City on March 29, where they then traveled to Havana, Cuba, with the intent to force the child to transition genders through surgery. Blue’s three-year-old child was also taken with them.

The child’s mother notified police about her missing boy, who was supposed to be returned to her on April 3, prompting a search of the couple’s home. Court records show that authorities discovered a “to-do list,” which included bringing the 10-year-old to Cuba, learning Spanish, obtaining a tourist visa, withdrawing $10,000, and emptying their bank accounts, the Daily Mail reported.
 

Days later, a Utah judge granted the biological mother sole custody of the child and ordered Rose and Blue to return the child. On April 16, Cuban officials located the family in Cuba, and they were promptly deported. Rose and Blue were arrested at the airport upon arrival.

“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake field office. “This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability.”

On Monday, the couple was arraigned in federal court in Virginia. They will be extradited to Utah for the remainder of the court proceedings.

The family of the biological mother had already been living in fear, for quite some time, that the child would be forced into “gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty” at the hands of Rose, prosecutors said. Rose transitioned to female more than a decade ago, after the child was born.

Online records show that Rose’s partner, Blue, launched a 2021 GoFundMe page that shed light on Rose’s challenges with gender transition, as well as his intention to raise his child “gender open.” He did not have custody during this time.

“Anyone who has spent time with Rose and [his son] sees how much care and thought [he] puts into parenting [his] gender open child,” Blue wrote. “[The child] does exceptionally well for their age because of how Rose is raising them. Rose helps find safe and inclusive medical providers and schools for the child, in addition to organizing appointments, buying clothes, and ensuring good nutrition.”

Additionally, Rose, who went by Eric Ethington at the time, authored several articles for the leftist queer publication LGBTQNation, dating back to 2010. His work appears to have focused on anti-LGBTQ legislation and discrimination, particularly within Christian churches.

His bio on the website reads, “Eric Ethington has been specializing in political messaging, communications strategy, and public relations for more than a decade…Eric’s writing, advocacy work, and research have been featured on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, CNBC, the New York Times, The Guardian, and The Public Eye magazine. He’s worked as a radio host, pundit, blogger, activist, and electoral campaign strategist.”