A transgender Utah woman and her lover have been accused of kidnapping her 10-year-old child and taking them to Cuba to allegedly get gender reassignment surgery.
Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, the child's biological father, and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington were arrested on Monday after being deported from Cuba.
Federal prosecutors said the couple brought the 10-year-old, as well as Blue's three-year-old child, to the Caribbean nation earlier this month, allegedly intending to force the child to transition.
The 10-year-old was born a male but identifies as a female, which worried family members said was 'largely believed to be due to manipulation by Rose', officials said in a press release.
Rose, who shares custody with the child's biological mother, transitioned to female after the child was born a decade ago, family members said.
The couple, from Cache County, Utah, raised concerns when they 'skipped out on a planned camping trip to Canada' on March 28, and the child was not returned to the custody of her biological mother five days later.
They had instead taken the children to Mexico City and then to Havana, and the child's family called police after raising 'significant concerns for the minor’s well-being.'
A search of their home then revealed 'to-do lists' to bring the 10-year-old to Cuba, including to 'learn Spanish', withdraw $10,000, obtain a tourist visa and 'empty' their bank accounts, court records showed.
Transgender Utah woman Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, (center) and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington (right) are accused of kidnapping her 10-year-old child and taking them to Cuba to allegedly get gender reassignment surgery for the minor
Rose, the 10-year-old's biological father, allegedly 'manipulated' her son into transitioning into a girl, and was accused of kidnapping the child to force it into surgery in Cuba
In a press release announcing the couple's arrest, prosecutors said family members had long held fears that the child was going to be forced into 'gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty.'
On April 13, a Utah court ordered the 10-year-old be returned to the child's biological mother immediately, and granted her exclusive custody of the child.
The group were located in Cuba three days later, and were deported before being arrested upon their arrival back in the US.
The couple appeared in court on Monday in Richmond, Virginia, and are set to be transported to Utah for the remainder of their court proceedings, officials said.
Both Rose and Blue are charged in a federal criminal complaint of International Parental Kidnapping.
A GoFundMe set up by Blue in 2021 sheds some light on the family's struggles with Rose's transition, noting that her child's biological mother had custody at the time.
The fundraiser said Rose was raising the child 'gender open', meaning she did not believe the child had a gender.
Rose shares custody with the child's biological mother, and transitioned to female after the child was born a decade ago, family members said
In a fundraiser set up in 2021, Blue (left) said Rose (right) was raising the child 'gender open'. This week prosecutors said family members had long held fears that the child was going to be forced into 'gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty'
Both Rose and Blue are charged in a federal criminal complaint of International Parental Kidnapping after allegedly taking the 10-year-old, as well as Blue's three-year-old child, to Cuba for gender reassignment surgeries
'Anyone who has spent time with Rose and [her son] sees how much care and thought she puts into parenting her gender open child,' Blue wrote in the fundraiser.
'[Her son] does exceptionally well for their age because of how Rose is raising them. Rose helps find safe and inclusive medical providers and schools for the child in addition to organizing appointments, buying clothes, and ensuring good nutrition.
'She even trains providers and teachers to make sure [her son] has the best chances of not being discriminated against.'
The fundraiser added that Rose was known as a 'cornerstone of the LGBTQ+ community' in Utah, and often organized marches and protests, taught 'diversity training' and lobbied lawmakers.