Kelly Rutherford Responds to Ex-Husbands Recent Allegations of Child Abduction and Extortion
Kelly Rutherford is speaking out after her ex-husband Daniel Giersch’s accused her of child abduction and extortion.
A statement from the Gossip Girl alum’s lawyer, Wendy Murphy, reads, “Mr. Giersch made an agreement with Kelly and the American courts in 2012 that the children would live abroad with him temporarily while he resolved his U.S. work visa issues. He did nothing to address his visa problems, and three years is exceedingly not temporary. He also refused to let Kelly see the children when she flew to Monaco for a visit this year unless she surrendered the children’s U.S. passports, which no court ordered her to do.”
Kelly Rutherford with her two children, Helena and Hermés.
After the 46-year-old refused to return her kids — six-year-old daughter, Helena, and eight-year-old son, Hermés — to Monaco (their father’s current residence), Giersch made the accusations through a statement via his lawyer.
In a previous statement to People, Kelly said, “These past three years waiting for my children to come home have been very difficult. My children were forced to leave the United States in 2012 when they were only 2 and 5 years old.”
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After fighting her case in both California and New York, it was finally ruled that neither state has jurisdiction over her children after the court-ordered arrangement ended. As a result, Kelly claims, “no state in this country is currently protecting my children. It also means that no state in this country currently requires me to send the children away. Hence, I have decided I cannot lawfully send my children away from the United States to live in a foreign country.”
Kelly Rutherford and Daniel Giersch, during happier times.
The pair — who got married in 2007 and filed for divorce in 2009 — have been engaged in a bitter custody battle after the 41-year-old father-of-two was deported due to an expired visa.
According to TMZ, Kelly and her children have been ordered to appear in court in NYC Tuesday. Giersch claims the custody order is binding and going against it makes her a criminal.
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