US dad wins Brazil court ruling on son’s custody

A U.S. father who won another round in his legal fight to regain custody of his 9-year-old son living in Brazil isn’t declaring victory, with his lawyers expecting yet another appeal to drag out the case.

A panel of three judges on a Brazilian federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that the boy, Sean, should be returned to David Goldman at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro within 48 hours, said Ricardo Zamariola, Goldman’s attorney.

“He’s really happy, but he is worried about any eventual future decision that could block the boy being handed over to him,” Zamariola said.

Previous rulings favorable to Goldman have been scuttled by other Brazilian courts. Zamariola said he was certain lawyers for Joao Paulo Lins e Silva, the Brazilian stepfather with whom Sean lives, would appeal, perhaps to the Supreme Court. Zamariola said he didn’t expect a final resolution until at least the first half of 2010.

The stepfather’s attorney, Sergio Tostes, declined to comment.

Goldman’s lengthy court battle to get custody of Sean has gained international attention as President Barack Obama, the U.S. Congress and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton have all urged the child’s return.

Clinton issued a statement saying she was encouraged by the appeals court’s decision “that Sean Goldman, a young American boy wrongfully retained in Brazil for more than five years, should be reunited with his father David in New Jersey.”

Goldman, who lives in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, was not present for the ruling and didn’t return a request for comment made to his U.S. attorney, Patricia Apy. Zamariola said he had spoken with Goldman and expected him to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday.

The case began in 2004 when Goldman’s wife, Bruna Bianchi, took the 4-year-old Sean to her native Brazil.

Goldman says it was to be a two-week vacation. But she stayed and so did the boy. She eventually obtained a Brazilian divorce from Goldman and remarried.

Goldman was already seeking his son’s return under an international treaty that covers cross-border child abductions when his former wife died last year giving birth to a daughter.

Her death generated more interest in the case, which has been discussed this year by top-level diplomats in Washington and the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. It also has been the subject of congressional hearings in the U.S. and has prompted protests in both countries.

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who has traveled to Brazil with Goldman and held congressional hearings on the issue, said he was optimistic Sean would soon be in the U.S.

“It’s outstanding news,” Smith said about Wednesday’s ruling. “Even if there is an appeal, the order is to deliver Sean to the embassy Friday.”

Bianchi’s mother has said her grandson wants to stay in Rio. She has filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking that Sean’s desires be considered. A similar request from the Brazilian family was denied earlier this year.

The child, who has dual citizenship, has been shielded from speaking directly to the news media.

Goldman and Sean were reunited in February for the first time since his son was taken to Brazil. They have not seen each other since June.