NOTE: This continuing family court coverage is a version of an article first published on Frank Report.
By Richard Luthmann
Sara Young, a California mother, is fighting a court order to deport her three young children to Italy despite their U.S. citizenship and minimal ties to the country.
They have minimal ties, yet on August 26, Ventura County Superior Court Judge JoAnn Johnson gave the children "the boot" to "the Boot." She ruled that Young’s children must be sent to Italy by September 3, following a petition filed by Young's estranged husband, Daniel Bichanich, under the Hague Convention.
“This ruling will rob my children of any future relationship with their primary caretaker, their mother,” Young stated after the ruling. “I am shocked and outraged that a U.S. family court judge would deport three U.S. citizen children to a foreign country they have no ties to aside from the fact that their father owns a house there.”
The battle began when Bichanich, represented by high-profile Los Angeles attorney Peter A. Lauzon, filed a petition under the Hague Convention, claiming that the children were wrongfully removed from Italy and should be returned there. He asserted that Italy was their habitual residence.
However, Young, who represented herself, vehemently disputes this claim. She argues that the family’s actual residence was in Jordan until May 2024, when she returned to California with her children after fleeing what she described as an abusive marriage.
“Our family was most recently habitually resident in Jordan from August 2022 to May 2024,” Young stated in opposition to Bichanich’s petition.
She provided extensive documentation, including school attendance records from the Lycée Français International d’Amman and Jordanian residency visas for the children, to support her claim that Jordan, not Italy, was their habitual residence.
The case has garnered significant attention, with journalists Richard Luthmann, Megan Fox, and Michael Volpe discussing it on “The Unknown Podcast.” They criticized Judge Johnson’s decision, questioning whether she was “asleep at the wheel” or if the fix was in, given the evidence presented by Young.
Young’s legal filings paint a disturbing picture of life with Bichanich. She alleges that he was abusive towards her and the children, describing numerous incidents of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse that escalated in early 2024.
“Daniel became increasingly abusive and would often scream at me in front of the children, demanding that they take his side,” Young stated in her court papers.
In addition to the abuse allegations, Young highlighted the practical challenges she and the children would face if they were forced to move to Italy. Italian law requires non-citizens to have employment to register for residence, a condition she would struggle to meet due to her lack of fluency in Italian and the country’s high unemployment rate.
“I would be financially crippled and homeless if I were to relocate to Italy,” she stated, noting that Bichanich had restricted her access to marital assets, leaving her with no means to support herself and the children in a foreign country.
Despite these concerns, Judge Johnson sided with Bichanich and ordered the children to return to Italy. In her ruling, Johnson concluded that Italy was indeed the children’s habitual residence under the Hague Convention, a determination widely criticized.
Young accused Bichanich of “forum shopping,” arguing that he deliberately chose Italy as the jurisdiction for their divorce and custody battle because it would be more favorable to him. She claimed that Bichanich had filed for divorce in Italy without her knowledge while the family was still in Jordan, blindsiding her and putting her at a significant disadvantage in the legal proceedings.
“The children do not speak Italian or identify with Italian culture. They are American, through and through,” Young asserted.
She fears that moving them to Italy would be traumatic, separating them from their mother and placing them in the care of a father she describes as abusive.
Young is not alone in her concerns about the misuse of the Hague Convention in custody battles. The Convention, intended to prevent international child abduction, has been criticized for being weaponized by abusive spouses against protective parents.
In this case, Young believes the Convention is being used to strip her of her children and force them into a potentially harmful environment in Italy. Jordan is not a signatory to the convention.
When contacted by this outlet, Attorney Peter A. Lauzon dismissed Young’s allegations as “patently false,” urging caution in reporting on the case. He suggested that journalists obtain the court order and transcripts before publishing anything.
This outlet sought follow-up:
From: Richard Luthmann
Subject: Re: Bichanich v. Young, Ventura County Superior Court
To: Peter Lauzon <plauzon@lpfamilylaw.law>
Thank you for your prompt reply. Be assured we have engaged in rigorous journalistic review of these facts. And we are concerned about the folllowing:How do you know that the court orders are correct and based upon the truth?
How do you know that your client isn't lying to you?
Records indicate that the family resided in Amman, Jordan, for many years as their home. Are these records false? Are international airlines, Facebook, and others conspiring to injure your client and change reality?
You client was in Jordan as an habitual resident. Your client's sworn statements when held up against the evidence show him to be a liar and a perjurer.
Maybe you can sleep at night knowing that your client will steal children through false pretenses and outright lies, and that Judge JoAnn Johnson may be asleep at the wheel, but the evidence tells a far different tale than the one your client has spun for the Ventura County, California Superior Court.Do you have any response?
Regards,
Richard Luthmann
Writer, Journalist, and Commentator
Attorney Lauzon did not respond as of press time.
As the September 3 deadline approaches, Young is scrambling to appeal the decision and keep her children in the U.S. She has requested that the custody proceedings remain in California, where the children have their most significant cultural and familial connections.
“The children are happy and thriving here in California,” Young told the court. “They have made friends, are surrounded by extended family, and are registered to start school soon. Moving them to Italy would be devastating.”
The outcome of this case could have far-reaching implications for international custody disputes and the interpretation of the Hague Convention. For now, Sara Young continues to fight for her children’s safety and well-being despite overwhelming odds, pleading with the court to reconsider its decision and allow her children to remain in the country of their citizenship.
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