Father Ordered Held In Jail Indefinitely Judge Cites State Court’S Parenting Plan; Man Goes Free If He Returns Boys

A former Spokane man is thwarting the authority of state courts in Washington by keeping his two sons in Germany, a Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Paul Bastine found Cole C. Cummings, a 29-year-old carpenter, in contempt of court and ordered him held in the Spokane County Jail indefinitely.

Cummings can purge the contempt and get out of jail by returning his two sons, Ryan, 9, and Kyle, 7, to their mother, Dana Hopkins, of Kettle Falls, the judge ruled.

Cummings was fined $100 and must pay legal bills and costs his ex-wife incurred in tracking him down in her two-year battle to regain custody of her sons, the judge ruled.

That combined bill may approach $10,000, Hopkins’ attorney said after the hearing.

Bastine ruled from the bench on an appeal by Cummings’ attorney, Maryann Moreno, who challenged a Feb. 8 contempt finding by Court Commissioner Valerie Jolicoeur.

Cummings was taken to jail that date, one day after getting out of federal custody on bail.

Thursday’s hearing was the fifth time in as many weeks that the contentious international child custody battle has been in a Spokane courtroom.

Hopkins, divorced from Cummings in 1995, was given legal custody of the two boys and the couple’s youngest son under a parenting plan that is a court order.

But she hasn’t seen her two oldest sons since March 1998, when Cummings took them to Germany to live with him and his new wife in violation of the divorce decree.

He was arrested last November in Germany and extradited to the United States in mid-January to stand trial in Spokane on a federal charge accusing him of international parental kidnapping.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury following an FBI investigation.

“Until he is willing to return the children to the state of Washington, he is in contempt of court,” Bastine said.

The judge said his ruling was fashioned to “protect the authority and dignity” of state courts in Washington.

“The court has no choice,” Bastine said. “To rule otherwise would be to put in question every order of the court, but in particular, child parenting plans.”

The court commissioner earlier ordered Cummings held in jail for 180 days for violating the parenting plan and saying in court that he had no intention of returning the boys to the United States.

“I don’t think I’m limited to 180 days,” Bastine said, explaining that Cummings will be jailed indefinitely.

As long as Cummings “continues to thwart the authority of the court,” he will remain in jail, the judge said. He scheduled another hearing in 90 days, unless Cummings brings the children back before then.

Moreno argued that finding Cummings in contempt for violating the parenting plan “is not appropriate in this kind of case.”

She also said Cummings can’t discuss with the state court why he took his sons to Germany, in violation of the divorce decree, because he faces federal prosecution.

“Mr. Cummings faces a very serious (federal) charge and he’s been advised to remain silent,” Moreno told the court.

“Mr. Cummings removed the children from the jurisdiction because he believed he had no other choice,” Moreno told the court.

There is “substantial evidence of physical abuse of these children” by Hopkins’ new husband, Moreno said. Hopkins has leveled similar charges at Cummings.

The judge said there has been “no finding of abuse” by Child Protective Services, police agencies or courts.

There also have been no such complaints involving the couple’s third son, who has continued to live with Hopkins and her new husband, Bastine said.

“So their argument that the children were endangered lacks any credibility,” the judge said of Cummings’ claim.

Moreno told the judge that Hopkins should use international treaty provisions of The Hague Convention if she wants to regain custody of her sons.

But attorney Priscilla Vaagen said The Hague Convention is a bureaucratic option Hopkins isn’t required to pursue.

And it may be moot at this point, anyway, Vaagen said, because the children have been in Germany for more than a year.

“The truth is The Hague Convention does not impact this court’s power,” Vaagen said.

“This is the home state of these children,” she said. “They were taken wrongly.”

“Mr. Cummings has taken these children - two years ago, not just from this county and state, but to another country, in violation of a court order,” Vaagen said.

The judge said he wasn’t considering The Hague Convention because “the issue here is the violation of court orders that are in place.”