The Removal and Continued Withholding of Joshua and Chelsea
On September 4, 2019, Giovanna Rojas Macedo took Joshua and Chelsea from the United States to Peru.
What was represented as temporary international travel became a prolonged separation in which the children were not returned to the United States.
Since that time, the case has involved proceedings in both the United States and Peru concerning the removal, retention, custody, and return of Joshua and Chelsea.
International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993
18 U.S.C. § 1204
Federal law addresses the international removal or retention of children through the International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act of 1993 (IPKCA).
Under 18 U.S.C. § 1204, a person commits the federal offense of international parental kidnapping when that person removes a child from the United States, attempts to remove a child from the United States, or retains outside the United States a child who has been in the United States, with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights.
For purposes of the statute, a “child” is a person under the age of 16. “Parental rights” include rights of physical custody—whether sole or joint—as well as visitation rights arising by operation of law, court order, or a legally binding agreement.
A violation may be punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to three years, or both.
The statute also contains specific affirmative defenses and operates separately from the civil remedies available under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.
California Penal Code § 278.5
Deprivation of Custody or Visitation Rights
California law separately criminalizes conduct involving the taking, withholding, keeping, or concealment of a child when it is done to deprive another person of lawful custody or visitation rights.
Under California Penal Code § 278.5, a person who takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child and maliciously deprives a lawful custodian of a right to custody, or a person of a right to visitation, may be subject to criminal penalties.
Depending upon how the offense is charged, penalties can include incarceration and substantial fines.
The statute also makes clear that obtaining a custody order after the conduct at issue does not, by itself, provide a defense to conduct that was already criminal under the statute.
In this case, California authorities have pursued criminal charges relating to the alleged deprivation of my custodial rights involving both Joshua and Chelsea.
California Penal Code § 278
Child Abduction by a Person Without a Right to Custody
California Penal Code § 278 addresses a separate form of child abduction involving a person who does not have a right to custody.
The statute provides that a person who, without a right to custody, maliciously takes, entices away, keeps, withholds, or conceals a child with the intent to detain or conceal that child from a lawful custodian may be criminally prosecuted.
A violation may be punishable by:
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Up to one year in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both; or
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Felony imprisonment for two, three, or four years, a fine of up to $10,000, or both imprisonment and a fine.
The distinction between §§ 278 and 278.5 is significant. Section 278.5 addresses interference with another person's existing custody or visitation rights, while § 278 applies when the person withholding or concealing the child does not have a right to custody.
The continued withholding of Joshua and Chelsea has therefore become not simply a private custody dispute, but the subject of significant legal proceedings involving international child-return law and California criminal law.
CRIMINAL CHARGES AGAINST GIOVANNA
On January 7, 2026, Giovanna Rojas Macedo was charged with Contempt of Court in California. A bench warrant was issued with a $100, 000 bail.
Bench Warrants:
Contempt of Court
(Penal Code 166) occurs when a person willfully disobeys a lawful, clear, and specific court order, such as restraining orders, child custody/visitation, or support payments.
It is a serious misdemeanor or quasi-criminal offense, potentially resulting in up to six months in jail, fines up to $1,000, and mandatory community service.
Paul Sneed, a U.S. citizen and father, has faced an ongoing custody dispute with his ex-wife, Giovanna, since December 6, 2018. During this time, Giovanna made serious false accusations against Paul, attempting to sway the court in her favor.
Despite rigorous investigations by local authorities and the Department of Child and Family Services, Paul was completely exonerated of these false charges but was forced to pay for limited supervised visits with his children.
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Recent Developments
Official Statement: Full Acquittal by the Peruvian Criminal Court
On August 31, 2026, after years of defending myself against serious allegations in Peru, I was fully acquitted of the criminal charges brought against me.
The judgment was issued by the First Permanent Collegiate Criminal Court of the Superior Court of Justice of Lima in criminal case No. 5314-2021-6-1826-JR-PE-28, following the completion of the criminal trial.
The official court record identifies the three-judge panel and the proceedings against me concerning allegations involving my children, Joshua and Chelsea. DOC-20260924-WA0046
After hearing the case and considering the evidence presented at trial, the Peruvian court entered a judgment of acquittal, bringing to an end a criminal proceeding that had followed me for years and had become deeply intertwined with my continuing effort to recover my children.
Throughout this process, I consistently maintained my innocence. At the same time, I continued pursuing every lawful avenue available to secure the return of Joshua and Chelsea to the United States.
For me, however, this judgment is about far more than clearing my name.
It is about Joshua and Chelsea.
For more than seven years, these allegations have affected nearly every aspect of my efforts to reunite with my children. They existed alongside valid custody and Hague Convention return orders that have yet to result in Joshua and Chelsea coming home.
My hope is that this acquittal removes one more significant obstacle standing in the way of the outcome I have sought from the beginning: the safe recovery and return of my children to the United States.
During these years of separation, I have missed birthdays, holidays, school years, milestones, and countless ordinary moments of their childhood that can never be recovered.
Through all of it, I have never stopped loving Joshua and Chelsea, thinking about them, searching for them, or working through lawful channels for the opportunity to be their father in everyday life again.
This acquittal represents an important turning point, but it is not the end of this story.
Joshua and Chelsea are still not home.
I respectfully ask the United States and Peruvian authorities responsible for this case to act with urgency to enforce the existing return orders, locate and safeguard Joshua and Chelsea, and bring this prolonged separation to an end.
I am deeply grateful to the attorneys, government officials, advocates, friends, family members, and others who have continued to stand with my children and me throughout this long process.
The criminal proceedings against me have concluded in acquittal. Now the focus must return to Joshua and Chelsea—their safety, the enforcement of the existing court orders, and bringing them home.
To Joshua and Chelsea:
I have never stopped loving you. I have never stopped looking for you. And I will never stop working through every lawful means available for the chance to be your father in everyday life again.
Bring Joshua and Chelsea Home.
— Paul F. Sneed
Father of Joshua and Chelsea
Charges and Court Orders Against Giovanna Rojas Macedo
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Contempt of Court (January 7, 2026):
The Ventura County Superior Court found Giovanna Rojas Macedo in contempt for willfully violating California custody and visitation orders. The court issued a bench warrant for her arrest and set bail at $100,000.
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UCCJEA Violation (March 2, 2026):
The court ruled that California is the children's Home State under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and that Giovanna violated the Act by wrongfully retaining Joshua and Chelsea in Peru.
The court reaffirmed California's exclusive jurisdiction and awarded the father sole legal and physical custody.
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International Child Abduction Return Order (April 27, 2026):
The Ventura County Superior Court ordered the immediate return of Joshua and Chelsea to the United States, finding that their continued retention in Peru was wrongful. Continued noncompliance may result in additional civil and criminal enforcement actions and supports ongoing international efforts to secure the children's return.
In an effort to recover his children, Paul filed a Hague Convention application. On May 30, 2023, a Peruvian court ruled in favor of Paul, ordering the immediate return of Joshua and Chelsea to the United States. Giovanna Rojas Macedo appealed this decision but lost again on October 4, 2023, when a higher court reaffirmed the order for the children's return.
Since then, two attempts have been made to recover the children. The first attempt on November 23, 2023, was unsuccessful as Giovanna and the children were not found at their home in Lince, Lima. The second attempt on January 10, 2024, encountered significant resistance.
Giovanna's attorney (Marco Antonio Loayza) confronted Paul’s representatives aggressively and violently at her home, violating the restitution order and obstructing justice, as the Lince police looked on without intervening. Following this, Giovanna, Joshua, and Chelsea went into hiding, and their whereabouts remain unknown.
We want to emphasize a unique aspect of this case that makes it unprecedented in the history of Peru. This marks the first instance of an international U.S. return in Peru where a lawyer from the Ministry of Women, Marco Antonio Loayza, actively opposes compliance and obstructs justice.
Laoyza is obstructing justice and interfering with compliance by aiding and abetting Giovanna Rojas Macedo to keep the children hidden.
Also, on January 10, 2024, he intentionally stopped a recovery attempt ordered by the Peruvian Superior Court. He used verbal and physical violence against my attorney and the court representative.
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On August 16, 2019, Paul and Giovanna met in mediation, where the court again denied Giovanna sole custody.
Paul was awarded unsupervised visitation rights, with a final custody hearing set for August 20, 2019.
Shortly after this hearing, on September 4, 2019, Giovanna unlawfully traveled to Peru with the children, without the consent of either Paul or the court.
Devastated by her actions and fearing for the well-being of his children, Paul began working with the U.S. State Department and the Peruvian Central Authority to locate Giovanna and return his children to the United States.
In February 2020, during the final custody hearing, the court found that Giovanna's failure to appear provided strong evidence that she had detained the children with no intention of returning them. The court granted Paul sole legal and physical custody and determined that the false accusations against him were a deliberate attempt by Giovanna to interfere with his custodial rights. It was concluded that Paul posed no threat to his children.
In November and December 2019, Paul traveled to Peru to see his children, only to have Giovanna interfere with his legal custody by denying him visits. Giovanna also made false and malicious accusations against Paul to Peruvian authorities, solely to alienate him from his children, effectively using the legal system to accomplish her goals.
Despite Paul's efforts, for more than five years, neither the U.S. State Department nor the Peruvian Central Authority could establish physical contact with Giovanna or the children. During this time, Giovanna continued to make false accusations that severely impacted Paul, resulting in his inability to communicate with or see Joshua and Chelsea.
This website has been created to provide resources, background information about Paul’s character, and ways to help. Paul’s family and friends love and miss Joshua and Chelsea dearly and want nothing more than to see them safely back home.
We truly appreciate all the support from those who have shared this message, donated to legal expenses, signed the petition, and offered prayers of encouragement for Paul.
— Paul’s Family and Friends
Interpol Alerts
URL (J.P.SNEED): ALERTA JOSHUA SNEED
https://www.interpol.int/es/Como-trabajamos/Notificaciones/Notificaciones-amarillas/Ver-las-notificaciones-amarillas#2024-56105
URL(C.E.SNEED): ALERTA CHELSEA SNEED
https://www.interpol.int/es/Como-trabajamos/Notificaciones/Notificaciones-amarillas/Ver-las-notificaciones-amarillas#2024-56103
My Missing Children
I have requested search orders from the national police, but there is still no evidence of work carried out with special teams to search for two children.
The following photo depicts the magistrate of the Hague Convention, representing Peru in cases involving the return of abducted children.
She is discussing the Sneed Case.
The lawyer representing the aggrieved party indicates her wish to clarify the identity of the magistrate, prompting the undersigned to inquire: What is the relevance, pertinence, and usefulness of her clarification?
The response is as follows:
Relevance: To identify the individual described in the preceding paragraph.
Pertinence: The lady serves as the liaison magistrate in the Hague Convention, representing Peru in cases involving the return of abducted children.
The following link to the public source for the valid document, "Annual Report on International Child Abduction 2025", is certified by American officials at the U.S. State Department, and is available at the public URL:
