Last Updated on June 1, 2020
An Arizona man fled to Switzerland with his young children, claiming he feared they would face sexual abuse from his former Mormon in-laws, only to have the children confiscated by Swiss authorities after his ex-wife had a “psychotic breakdown.”
Neil Sutz, an American man who holds Swiss citizenship due to his familial ties to the nation, claims that he feared his young children would be sexually abused by his ex-wife’s family after learning that they abused her. According to Sutz, his ex-wife’s family are powerful members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, and she suffered sexual abuse throughout her formative years at their hands.
After fleeing to Switzerland, the children were taken from their father’s custody after he says his ex-wife had a “psychotic episode.”
Neal Sutz was living a nightmare before he moved his family to Switzerland. Facing dangers from powerful members of the Mormon Church, he expatriated with his wife and two young boys. But once there, his now-ex-wife had a psychotic breakdown that led to the removal of his children from his custody. His ex-wife is now somewhere in America while Sutz fights through courts and the media to get his children back.
Health Impact News also reported that Sutz claims the health of the children is currently deteriorating as they languish in a Swiss group home, and that Sutz is suing his former relatives for defamation related to the claims they made to have his children removed from his custody:
Neal Sutz, an Arizona father who left the U.S. to try and protect his sons whom he claims were in danger of being sexually abused by his former Mormon in-laws, has filed a $200 million defamation lawsuit in Arizona against his former brother-in-law Damian Creamer, whom Sutz claims is “one of the richest, most politically influential men in the state of Arizona.”
The lawsuit names other defendants among Sutz’s former in-laws that he claims slandered him, resulting in the loss of custody of his two sons just after they fled the U.S. and arrived in Switzerland, where Neal Sutz holds a dual citizenship due to his family being from Switzerland.
His two special needs sons have been in captivity for over 2 years in Switzerland group homes, and Sutz claims that their health and well-being are deteriorating quickly, and he fears that without U.S. intervention for these American citizens suffering in Switzerland, his sons may not survive much longer.
This case has been ongoing since 2018, leading some to call for the United States State Department to examine the circumstances leading to the children’s removal.