Two people are under arrest after a 10-year-old Utah child was taken to Cuba without his mother’s consent as the child’s family feared he was being taken for gender transition surgery.
Rose Inessa-Ethington, also known as Eri Ethington, 42, and Blue Inessa-Ethington, also known as Carly Ann Crosby, 32, each of Cache County, Utah, were deported from Cuba on Monday to face charges against them, according to a Department of Justice news release.
The complaint against the two suspects — which called for charges of International Parental Kidnapping and Aiding and Abetting — noted that Rose Inessa-Ethington is the former husband of the child’s mother, and that he now goes by a female name and claims to be female.
The complaint said that the 10-year-old was supposed to be heading for Canada on March 28 to go camping with his father, his father’s partner, and the partner’s 3-year-old child. When April 3 came — the date for the child’s return — he did not arrive. At that point, the child’s mother contacted authorities.
The complaint said that Rose Inessa-Ethington, Blue Inessa-Ethington, and the children flew first to Mexico and then to Cuba.
“Interviews of MV 1’s family members provided significant concerns for MV 1’s well-being, as MV 1 was born a male, however, identifies as a female child, which is largely believed to be due to manipulation by Rose Inessa-Ethington,” the complaint said.
“Concerns exist that MV 1 was transported to Cuba for gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty,” the complaint said.
MV 1 stands for “minor victim 1,” which is how the child was identified in the complaint.
The complaint said searches of Rose Inessa-Ethington and Blue Inessa-Ethington’s residence found notes “from a mental health therapist located in Washington D.C. including instruction to send the therapist the $10,000.00 and instructions on gender affirming medical care for children.”
On April 13, a Utah state court ordered that the 10-year-old be returned to his mother, who was given sole custody of the child. Three days later, the group was located in Cuba.
The Trump administration sent a plane to Cuba to bring back the child, according to the Associated Press.
The child and his mother have been reunited.
Logan City Police spokesman Brandon Bevan said the child’s family members suggested gender reassignment surgery could be a possibility.
It was unclear if Cuba was the final stop or how the suspects made connections for gender reassignment surgery.
The two suspects had an initial hearing on the charges against them in Richmond, Virginia, and were ordered detained.
Transgender Utah woman and her lover are accused of abducting her 10-year-old and taking the child to Cuba to have sex change surgery https://t.co/Dp1NZ7Yq2U
— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) April 22, 2026
“We are grateful to law enforcement for working swiftly to return the child to the biological mother,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak for the District of Utah said, according to the Justice Department release.
“Our priority in every parental kidnapping case is the safety and well-being of the child,” Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls of the Salt Lake City FBI said. “This case reflects the strength of partnerships in locating victims, supporting reunification, and ensuring accountability.”
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