Utah Couple Charged With Kidnapping After Allegedly Taking Child to Cuba to Undergo Gender-Affirming Surgery

A 10-year-old became the focus of law enforcement and media attention in Utah after the child's parent allegedly took them to Cuba without the biological mother's permission, raising concerns about a possible attempt to seek gender-affirming medical care.

According to The Associated Press, Rose Inessa-Ethington, a transgender woman, traveled with her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington, the 10-year-old, and Blue's 3-year-old child to Canada for a camping trip in late March.

A criminal complaint filed April 20 in federal court in Utah states the two adults turned off their phones after telling the child's mother they had arrived in Canada. What began as a short trip expanded into a multi-country journey, with the pair flying from Vancouver to Mexico and then to Cuba on April 1.

Court documents show the search for the child began April 3, when the child was not returned to the mother in Utah as required under a shared custody arrangement and a state judge ordered the child's return on April 13.

Three days later, a federal magistrate judge issued arrest warrants for the Inessa-Ethingtons. Cuban authorities located the group that same day, and they were deported to the United States on April 21 before being arraigned in federal court in Richmond, Virginia.

Rose and Blue Inessa-Ethington were arrested and charged with international parental kidnapping. The child was returned to the biological mother.

Logan City Police Chief Jeff Simmons told The Associated Press the department initially focused on custodial interference and did not learn until later about concerns related to gender-affirming care. Logan police spokesperson Sgt. Brandon Bevan said those concerns were raised by a family member.

According to court filings, a relative alleged that Inessa-Ethington took the child to Cuba to undergo gender-affirming surgery, though authorities initially had no evidence to support the claim.

Investigators later found that Blue Inessa-Ethington withdrew $10,000 from a bank account before leaving the United States. Agents also recovered a note at the family's home referencing instructions from a mental health therapist in Washington, D.C., including directions to send $10,000 and information related to gender-affirming medical care for children, although the note did not mention Cuba.

Authorities' concerns grew after an April 16 affidavit from FBI Special Agent Jennifer Waterfield cited family members who alleged Rose Inessa-Ethington had "manipulated" the child, who was assigned male at birth, to identify as a girl.

The Associated Press reported that in Cuba, gender-affirming surgeries are not performed on minors and are limited to adults within the public health system under strict regulation at designated hospitals for Cuban citizens.