A family that adopted a Russian child with severe emotional problems decided to simply put him on a plane back to Russia with a note for the child protection ministry. He showed up unannounced with a paid escort, provoking an “international incident.”

It seems the whole thing boils down to some questionable advice from a lawyer the adoptive parent found online, says CNN:

… the Tennessee woman who put Justin Hansen on the plane in Washington, insisted she did not abandon the child, but was following instructions from a lawyer she found online.

Hansen told CNN that she was concerned about her family’s safety after a series of violent incidents and threats.

“I still have energy and I love children,” Hansen said. “It wasn’t that he was just energetic and wearing us down. It was the violent tendencies and he had to be watched at all time.”

Once the child learned enough English to communicate he described horrific abuse, and said he was responsible for burning down buildings back in Russia. The woman says the boy threatened to kill the family. The final straw came when the woman says she found the boy trying to light a fire in his room.

When the lawyer she found online advised her the adoption could be reversed, Hansen booked the flight and paid the fee for a steward to escort Justin through the airport, she said.

She hired a driver in Moscow she found online to pick the child up from the Moscow airport, she said. She found “safe references” for the driver online, she said.

She then prepared a letter for Justin to present to Russian officials, which included a photo of the driver, whom she identified as “Arthur,” she said.

Justin “had never been happier” than when he boarded the plane for Moscow, she said.

Russian child protection officials were not happy when the child arrived unannounced at their ministry Wednesday.

Grandmother: Adopted boy sent back to Russia was violent [CNN]

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