H. Res. 821
In the House of Representatives, U.S.,
October 7 (legislative day, October 6), 2004.
Whereas Dylan Benwell, a 9-year-old lawful permanent resi-
dent with an application pending for United States citi-
zenship, was taken from his home in Winthrop Harbor,
Illinois, on July 22, 2004, by his maternal grandparents,
Timothy and Ethel Blake, both of whom are citizens of
Ireland;
Whereas Dylan and his mother once lived in Ireland with his
maternal grandparents;
Whereas Dylan has legally remained in the sole custody of his
mother Serena Benwell, and adoptive father, John
Benwell, after a Virginia juvenile district court ruled on
December 14, 2001, that Dylan should remain in the
custody of his mother and stepfather;
Whereas Dylan and 3 of his siblings have been adopted by
John Benwell, a United States citizen;
Whereas Dylan and his 5 brothers and sisters are a part of
a caring and loving family;
Whereas Ethel Blake attempted to kidnap Dylan in 1999
from his kindergarten class in Virginia, and was charged
with domestic battery upon John Benwell;
Whereas on July 16, 2001, Dylan told a Virginia social work-
er that he did not want to live in Ireland again with his
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grandparents and that he wished to live in the United
States with his immediate family;
Whereas on November 29, 2001, Dylan told a social worker
with Winthrop Harbor Schools, in Illinois, that he wanted
to live with his mother, stepfather, and siblings and he
also expressed worries that his grandparents might try to
take him away again;
Whereas on December 6, 2001, after an individual session
with Dylan, a social worker with the Great Lakes Naval
Hospital reported to the Virginia juvenile district court
that Dylan feared his grandparents after the first kid-
napping attempt, after explaining that he did not wish to
live with his grandparents because he had no friends to
play with in Ireland, and implying that his grandparents
spent a large part of their time drinking beer;
Whereas in recorded telephone conversations in the posses-
sion of the police department of Winthrop Harbor, Illi-
nois, Dylan told Timothy Blake that he did not want to
live with the Blakes in Ireland;
Whereas in 2001, a petition for the return of Dylan from the
United States to Ireland, filed by Timothy and Ethel
Blake in accordance with the Hague Convention on the
Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, signed at
The Hague on October 25, 1980 (TIAS 11670) (‘‘Hague
Convention’’), was rejected by a United States court
which held that the Blakes had no custodial rights to
Dylan upon relocation of the child’s mother to the United
States with her American husband;
Whereas Timothy and Ethel Blake succeeded in kidnapping
Dylan from his home in Illinois 5 years after the initial
attempt in Virginia, and have shown little concern for the
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trauma that the abduction of Dylan has caused their
other grandchildren;
Whereas warrants for the arrest of Timothy and Ethel Blake
on charges of aggravated kidnapping, a felony, have been
issued by the State of Illinois and United States officials
have filed a Hague Convention petition for custody of
Dylan on behalf of the Benwell family;
Whereas the Congress, in 1932, enacted the first Federal kid-
napping statute, in response to the kidnapping and mur-
der of the infant son of Charles Lindbergh;
Whereas the Congress recognizes the gravity of international
child abduction and enacted the International Parental
Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (adding section 1204 to
title 18, United States Code), the Parental Kidnapping
Prevention Act of 1980 (adding section 1738A to title
28, United States Code, and section 463 to the Social Se-
curity Act), and substantial reform and reporting require-
ments for the Department of State through foreign rela-
tions authorization Acts for the fiscal years 1998 through
2001;
Whereas the United States is a contracting party to the
Hague Convention, and adopted effective implementing
legislation in the International Child Abduction Remedies
Act (42 U.S.C. 11601 et seq.);
Whereas Ireland is a contracting party to the Hague Conven-
tion and adopted legislation for the implementation of the
Act under the Child Abduction and Enforcement of Cus-
tody Orders Act (S.I. No. 235/1991); and
Whereas the Hague Convention establishes reciprocal rights
and duties between and among its contracting states to
expedite the return of abducted children to their states
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of habitual residence, and to ensure that the custodial
and parental access rights of one contracting state are ef-
fectively respected in other contracting states: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) condemns the abduction of Dylan Benwell from
his home in the United States, the country of his custo-
dial mother’s domicile;
(2) commends the actions taken by the Office of
Children’s Issues of the Department of State and the
United States Embassy in Dublin, Ireland;
(3) commends the hard work and dedication of the
police department of Winthrop Harbor, Illinois, espe-
cially that of Detective Sergeant Tim Borowski;
(4) calls on the Government of Ireland to recognize
that the safety and welfare of Dylan are the foremost
concern;
(5) urges the Government of Ireland to recognize
the decision of the Virginia juvenile district court;
(6) calls upon the Government of Ireland to recog-
nize that this matter does not pertain to the custodial
rights of Dylan’s maternal grandparents, a matter al-
ready decided by the courts, and instead relates to a vio-
lation of United States law and the Hague Convention
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction,
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signed at The Hague on October 25, 1980 (TIAS
11670) (‘‘Hague Convention’’);
(7) urges the Government of Ireland not to reward
or condone the unlawful action of Timothy and Ethel
Blake, two Irish nationals, by keeping Dylan from his
family; and
(8) urges the Government of Ireland to recognize
that as a matter of international law under Article 1 of
the Hague Convention, the Government of Ireland is re-
quired to secure the prompt return of Dylan, on the
basis that Dylan was wrongfully removed from his home
in the United States, a contracting state to the Conven-
tion.
Attest:
Clerk.