American explains own children`s abduction
American Ronald Grecula, who has been accused by his wife Monique of having abducted
their two minor children and then brought them to Malta, has filed his pleas before the
First Hall of the Civil Court presided by Mr Justice Raymond C. Pace.
Grecula was accused by his wife of having violated the terms and conditions of access
rights granted to him by the courts of Pennsylvania, in the US, and of having abducted the
two children.
In his pleas, Grecula declared, on a preliminary basis, that he was only given two
hours to reply to the application filed by his wife for provisional custody of the
children in Malta. Furthermore, he was given just 12 hours to reply to his wife's
application for the case against him to be heard and decided with urgency.
These time-limits, he argued, started to run while he was in police custody in
connection with passport problems and when the Court Registry was closed.
The husband further claimed he was served with his wife's writ of summons only 15 or 20
minutes before the court case was scheduled for hearing.
The court had given him only one-and-a-half hours to file his note of pleas. In view of
the unusually short time limits, Grecula claimed he was being placed in an unfair
situation vis-a-vis his wife and he reserved his constitutional rights in the matter.
On the merits of the case, Grecula said the court proceedings in his regard referred to
by his wife were mostly trumped up accusations and half truths, and that any judgments
against him were delivered in his absence. Thus, the First Hall of the Civil Court could
not take his wife's accusations at face value.
Furthermore, the US courts had, on October 26, 2000, granted primary care of the two
minor children to their mother. Grecula submitted that his wife could not properly fulfil
this primary care as she worked as an airline flight attendant and spent more time
travelling than with the children. The situation, he said, had not changed. On the other
hand, the husband pleaded he was in a position to spend time with the children in Malta
where he wished to reside on a long term basis.
He further pleaded that the abduction had occurred because he could no longer bear his
wife's immorality, nor could he bear the constant provocation from her and from her
partner, Manuel Morales. The husband claimed that in April 1999 his wife had told him that
Morales could kill him.
Grecula added that he had not wished to see his children being in the exclusive custody
of a mother who was temperamental, liable to violent flare-ups and who was living with a
man whose moral standards were highly objectionable. The husband denied he had ever used
violence on his wife save to defend himself or to suppress her violence against him.
He claimed his wife had drawn a knife on him, scuffled with him and screamed
hysterically for no sufficient reason.
He also declared he felt that neither he nor his children were safe anywhere in the USA
due to his wife's alliance with Morales.
The man denied he was living illegally in Malta, save that he had inadvertently
overstayed by a couple of weeks. He had been arraigned before the Magistrates' Court and
given two months under personal guarantee to regularise his position.
In conclusion, Grecula assured the court that he intended to clear his name with the US
authorities and would be appealing the withdrawal of his regular US passport.
He requested the court to award him the temporary care and custody of the minor
children unless the US court judgment of November 6, 2001 (which had awarded sole custody
to his wife) was officially enforced in Malta. Grecula added that his wife had not tried
to obtain enforcement of the judgment in Malta.
He added he was a far more suitable parent to his children and declared that the
children were at school in Malta and lived in a safe environment.
Dr Joseph R. Pace signed the pleas. |
