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HANOVER TWP. — A father who legally lost custody of his son was arraigned Thursday on allegations he attempted to take the child out of the country, Hanover Township police reported.
Abraham De La Cruz-Figeuroa, 33, was extradited from Essex County, N.J., on an arrest warrant charging him with interference with custody of a child. He was arraigned by District Judge Joseph Halesey in Hanover Township and jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $200,000 bail.
Police said they investigated a reported missing 12-year-old boy from South Regent Street. The child’s father, Cruz-Figeuroa, lives in the Dominican Republic and has no legal custody.
Police learned Cruz-Figeuroa planned to take the boy to the Dominican Republic without permission from the child’s legal guardian.
Officers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey arrested Cruz-Figeuroa at the Newark International Airport before boarding a booked flight to the Dominican Republic on March 21, police reported.
The child was found safe with Cruz-Figeuroa and was returned to his legal guardian.