Father drops case against runaway mum Rebecca Minnock
24 June 2015
From the section England
Rebecca Minnock left court after legal proceedings were dropped
A mother who went on the run with her three-year-old son has been told she “owes her liberty” to the boy’s father after he dropped the case against her.
Rebecca Minnock, 35, fled from her Somerset home with Ethan on 27 May, the day a judge ruled the boy should live with his father Roger Williams.
She handed herself in on 12 June after a high-profile campaign to trace her.
Mr Williams’s barrister told a judge at Bristol Magistrates’ Court that his client wanted to “draw a line”.
Mr Williams, of Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, had begun committal proceedings after Miss Minnock ignored two court orders about their son.
But his barrister, Rupert Chapman, told the court he now wanted to withdraw the application for committal.
‘History of breaches’
Judge Stephen Wildblood QC told Miss Minnock: “Any idea that people can behave in that way that you did and for it to be swept under the carpet is completely wrong.”
But he said he would respect the father’s wishes.
“He and Ethan are the victims of this mother’s actions and I consider that the father’s voice should prevail,” the judge said.
Rebecca Minnock’s was warned never to fail to comply with a court order again
Source:: BBC world news feed
