TAMPA, Fla. — A four-year-old Tampa boy kidnapped days before his third birthday and taken to the Middle East by his father is back home with his mother after spending ten months abroad.

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Dexter Salamey was to be returned to his mother, Rachelle Smith, after a visit with his father, Ali Salamey, on August 24, 2018. But Salamey instead took the child to Lebanon, violating a custody sharing agreement.

After months of petitions and legal wrangling, four Lebanese courts ruled the child must be returned. Family Attorney Pat LeDuc received a call Friday notifying him that Dexter would be back in the States by the end of the day.  

“I was taken aback,” said LeDuc, who credits God for the change in events. “Given what l just talked about, the power of prayer and all that, I was not expecting this this morning, honestly.”

Smith arrived at Tampa International Airport with her son around 3:45 p.m. Friday afternoon, flanked by two FBI agents.  She walked quickly and said nothing to any of the reporters covering her arrival. 

 

 

 

The chances Dexter would return to the U.S. were slim because Lebanon does not have an extradition treaty with the United States and is not part of an international agreement on child abductions. 

Salamey, who is an American citizen but is of Lebanese background, could not be forced to return to America. 

Ali Salamey, meanwhile, is now in federal custody and is expected to face criminal charges, including kidnapping.