Trial begins for man in same-sex parental kidnap case in NY
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Federal authorities are making their case in New York against a Virginia man accused of interfering in a same-sex couple's child custody fight.
Opening statements began Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo in the trial of Philip Zodhiates (zo-dee-YA'-taze). Prosecutors say he helped a woman and her daughter flee the country in 2009 when it was clear the woman was losing a custody battle to her former partner.
Zodhiates has pleaded not guilty to international parental kidnapping and other charges.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Prosecutors say that after Lisa Miller renounced her homosexuality, Zodhiates drove her and her then 7-year-old daughter from Virginia to the Rainbow Bridge in New York where they crossed into Canada on their way to Nicaragua.
A Vermont family court had given Miller's former partner, Janet Jenkins, visitation rights.