A woman who was criminally charged for taking her 18-month-old biological son to Mexico in violation of a custody order was found in the Aguascalientes region of Mexico and deported by Mexican immigration authorities, and the boy was returned to the United States, officials said Thursday.
Brigette Benitez, 31, allegedly took Miguel Eduardo Zuniga Medina Jr., to Mexico after she failed to return him to his legal guardian following an unsupervised visit that occurred on Feb. 6 in the city of Walnut, the FBI reported.
“Zuniga Medina Jr. was found and returned on Friday evening to the custody of the Department of Child and Family Services in Los Angeles and has been placed with a foster family,” an FBI statement said. “Miguel appeared to be safe and healthy.”
According to the FBI, investigators had established that Benitez crossed into Mexico on Feb. 6 at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry in San Diego County.
A federal arrest warrant for the woman was obtained on March 7, after she was charged with international parental kidnapping in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
The complaint alleges that Benitez intentionally obstructed the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, which “holds legal and physical custody of Medina, Jr.,” the FBI reported.
“Benitez had also been charged in Los Angeles County following an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department,” according to an FBI statement. Benitez remains in L.A. County sheriff’s custody.
“Miguel Eduardo Zuniga Medina Sr., is the non-custodial father of Zuniga Medina, Jr. and is believed to be living in Aguascalientes, Mexico,” according to the FBI’s statement regarding the case, which says Medina Sr. was arrested last year for an alleged domestic violence incident, “and has a history of engaging in violent altercations in the presence of children, according to a Juvenile Dependency Petition filed in Los Angeles County.”
“Following last year’s arrest, Zuniga Medina Jr. was placed in the custody of DCFS,” the FBI said. “The Superior Court in Los Angeles County found that it was necessary to remove Zuniga Medina Jr. from his parents for his own health, safety and well-being.”
Zuniga Medina Sr. has been charged in the Superior Court in Los Angeles County, and the case is being investigated by the FBI and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and the United States Marshals Service.
The United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles is overseeing the federal charges against Benitez.