Genetic genealogy brings hope to children left behind.
As a part of our End Trafficking project, Genealogy for Justice™ and sister organization, FHD Forensics recently helped to change a child’s life with the tool of genetic genealogy.
On December 19, 2023, in an Edmonton, Alberta King’s Bench trial, FHD Forensics and Genealogy For Justice played a key role in an important precedent setting use of Investigative Genetic Genealogy to establish the paternity of a child born out of wedlock to a sex worker in the Philippines.
This photo by award-winning photojournalist Dave Tacon of Angeles Relief, Inc was part of a series published with fellow journalist and humanitarian Margaret Simons in various outlets about children of local sex workers who were abandoned by their Australian fathers.
The paternity research was completed by an investigative genetic genealogist who has since partnered with Team FHD for work related to sex trafficking. Expert testimony on those results was provided by genetic genealogist Allison Peacock, founder of FHD Forensics and Advisory Board Chair at Genealogy For Justice.
The positive outcome for the child came after years of attempts to work with the biological father on the part of the child’s advocates at Hear Their Cries, an organization dedicated to stopping child rape and sexual abuse in the foreign aid and sexual tourism industries.
UK Soliciter Andrew MacLeod, Chairman of Griffin Law and Executive Director of Hear Their Cries testified eloquently about the innate sense of conviction he feels to bring justice, equity, and support to victims of sexual abuse and misconduct in impoverished and developing countries.
He also outlined the ways the court’s ruling would impact the child’s life and bring a sense of identity and increased opportunities.
As it has played out in many courtrooms around the world where this forensic technique is still new, detailed explanations of the genetic analysis were required in order to validate previously submitted affidavits by the witnesses present. Justice Marta Burns asked probing questions in order to better understand how the father’s identity was made without a paternity test. Genealogist Peacock explained genetic networks and the unique genealogical event combining the father’s two previously unrelated distinct genetic networks through his parents’ marriage and childbirth.
As a part of his award-winning journalism on children fathered by Australian tourists with writer Margaret Simons, photographer Dave Tacon photographed 19 year-old Judith, and her three month old baby near a rubbish dump in the Hadrian slum.
In spite of the biological father’s obstruction of the trial process for years, attorney Max Blitt KC and co-counsel Himanshu Singal were able to tie together all of the evidence presented in the father’s absence for Justice Burns. Since the biological father refused in writing on multiple occasions to take a paternity test, the Court bypassed that requirement and found that he was indeed the father of the child as evidenced by the genetic genealogy findings and affidavit. Justice Burns then issued order that will be served upon the father to provide financial disclosure for child support purposes.
Material support for the child has been provided by an Angeles Relief, Inc. led by award-winning Australian journalist Margaret Simons, whose articles on the children of sex tourists in the Philippines attracted the attention of attorney MacLeod. Steps will now be taken to secure Canadian citizenship for the subject of the hearing, so that she has the opportunity to come to Canada, and ensure she is not part of an ongoing cycle of exploitation and victimization.
The entire advocacy team of FHD Forensics, Genealogy For Justice, Spier Harben Law, Hear Their Cries, Angeles Relief and other champions for this child celebrate her newfound potential to improve her life thanks to the tool of investigative genetic genealogy.
I am 82 and retired and have done family history since I was 23, back when it was really hard. I tromped through lots of cemeteries, searched in many library, and looked at thousands of rolls of microfilm. I loved every minute of it. All four of my grandparents had lived in Texas at some time, then all had moved into Indian Territory or Oklahoma Territory, later Oklahoma. Searching in Oklahoma records was very hard and many years later very little had been indexed. For a few years I indexed records from FamilySearch films and would always work on Oklahoma marriage if they were on the list. I indexed 5,000 marriage records. I helped a lot of people find records of their family. Others concerned me an excellent researcher, and I will admit that I found many, many records that other had not discovered to be their family.
I was excited when DNA became a part of research. My husband was 26 when we married and the first time we visited his parents, I saw many things that made me believe that his family was not as he believed it to be. We talked about it a little, but we didn’t check his DNA. As he aged, he mentioned it more and more, and I would always just say “Tell me when you are ready.” I knew that I couldn’t keep the information from him if I saw the DNA. In his 60’s he talked about it more and more and decided to order kits for his sister, me, and himself. His sister lives in another state and would not understand but did get some help to submit her DNA. Mine had the my family that I had expected to find, but I was contacted by 3 adoptive people who appeared on my list who asked for my help. Until that listing, I would never have believed that there had been adopted from my family. My husband sent his sister’s kit to here for Christmas, but his had gone in a little earlier. When he was notified that his was ready to view, his sister should up as “a half sibling or first cousin”. I asked him if he wanted me to find his father, but he said “No”. He would talk to me about it, but never ask me to do it. One night, in a very strange mood, he brought it up again. I asked again if he wanted me to find his father and he said that he did, and we went to bed. I called him just before noon the next day to get him to come home for lunch. He didn’t want to until I told him that I had a picture of his father on his desk. He came home. LOL So at 70 years old he learned he had a half brother. We live in Oklahoma and they live in Iowa, but my husband died at 78 and we had gotten together as families at least once a year.
I am not a DNA expert, but I have been able to find what I needed to find. I love what you are doing and especially the “cold cases” you work, and I would love to do that.
Thank you for sharing your story. It’s a wonderful undertaking and I know he appreciated your research.