Olguin v. Santana

Noel Olguin (plaintiff) and Maria Santana (defendant) had two children, Sergio and Raul, and they all lived together in a rural Mexican town. Olguin abused alcohol and frequently beat Santana, often in front of the children. Olguin also threatened to kill Santana. Olguin’s parents, who also lived in the home, helped Olguin in covering up the abuse. Although Santana suffered the brunt of physical abuse, the children were occasionally hit as well. In a July 2001 incident, Olguin choked Santana in Raul’s presence and tried to throw Santana down the stairs. Santana reported the abuse to the police and went to live with her parents for two months. Thereafter, Santana took the children to New York. After eight months, Olguin convinced Santana to return to Mexico. For a short period, Olguin stopped his physical abuse and drinking, but he eventually returned to his old habits. In June 2003, Santana took the children once again to New York. There, the children settled into a stable routine and were comforted by being in the United States, safe from abuse. In February 2004, Olguin filed a claim for the children’s repatriation under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the convention), of which both the United States and Mexico were signatories. The district court scheduled a hearing to determine whether returning the children to Mexico would subject them to a grave risk of psychological harm, excepting them from return under the convention. Sergio presented as highly traumatized, had a history of psychotic and suicidal thoughts, and stated that he would “kill himself” if returned to Mexico. An expert witness found that Sergio suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of Olguin’s abuse, that he would suffer severe psychological damage if returned to Mexico, and that Raul would suffer irreversible psychological damage if separated from his brother and mother. The children’s former Mexican hometown lacked social, medical, and other support services for victims of domestic violence.