FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GRAND JURY RETURNS INDICTMENTS IN INTERNATIONAL CHILD CUSTODY CASE

San Antonio, Texas: June 15, 2010

A Bexar County Grand Jury today returned a felony indictment against Juan Felipe Lacombe Vega, also known as Jean Phillipe Lacombe, age 41, for the felony offenses of Kidnapping, Aggravated Perjury, and Interference with Child Custody. Juan Felipe Lacombe Vega is a Mexican and French citizen.

This case arose when Lacombe Vega, the father of Jean Paul Lacombe, age 10, obtained an order from a local District Court Judge on October 15, 2009 allowing him to take temporary custody of his son. Lacombe-Vega applied for this order, by filing a written sworn motion and testifying under oath that he was entitled to custody of Juan Paul, and that the mother, Berenice Diaz, did not have lawful possession of the child pursuant to existing orders from Mexico. Judge Sol Casseb of the 225th District Court issued an order directing law enforcement to take custody of the child and hand him over to Lacombe Vega. The order issued by Judge Casseb directed both parents to appear in court the following Monday, October 19, 2009, for a hearing to determine rightful possession of the child. This order was presented to Precinct #3 deputy constables who took the boy from an NEISD school bus on October 16th, 2009 and turned him over to Lacombe Vega. Berenice Diaz, Jean Paul's mother, was present when her son was seized, and was told she would see her son again at the hearing scheduled for October 19, 2009. Lacombe Vega did not appear for the court hearing on October 19, 2009, and neither he nor Jean Paul have been seen since.

The District Attorney's office alleges in the indictment that the mother, Bernice Diaz, actually has lawful custody of the child, Jean Paul, and that Lacombe Vega allegedly perpetrated a fraud upon the court by misrepresenting Mexican decrees in order to unlawfully obtain possession of the child and to abscond with him in violation of multiple court orders.

Kidnapping and Aggravated Perjury are third degree felonies with a punishment range of 2 to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine. Interference with Child Custody is a State Jail Felony with a punishment range of 180 days to 2 years in the state jail facility and up to a $10,000.

For more information, contact District Attorney Susan Reed at 210-335-2342.