The Countess

Lowell Jaks Is Gearing Up For A Fight

My regular readers know that Lowell Jaks, the founder of the fathers' rights group Alliance for Noncustodial Parents Rights (ANCPR), was imprisoned for kidnapping his son and spiriting him away to the Dominican Republic. You may read my Lowell Jaks/ANCPR archive, which tells the whole story, at this link.

He is now out of jail, and he has no contact with his son. I just received word from his ex-wife Elaine Rudis-Jackson that he has shown no remorse for what he had done. He said "I'm glad we did what we did. I'm proud of what I did. I went ahead with this action." [...] "I let my principles get the better of my judgement," said Jaks. But added that he didn't agree with the court system having jurisdiction over families "and not the parents as it should be. This results in severe dislocation. The situation is just untenable, equivalent to a modern day holocaust."

I hereby invoke Godwin's Law.

Jaks recently had a hearing about his case, and he's not happy that he didn't get what he wanted. Rudis-Jackson heard him say "this is great, this is just what I wanted to have happen. The media is going to hear about this" referring to "not even being able to send a birthday card to his son".

He hasn't learned a thing, which doesn't surprise me. He has no regrets about what he had done. I think there is a danger that he could kidnap his son again, and it looks like the courts see the same possibility.

It also looks like he is still living off of ANCPR membership fees. His views haven't changed. He believes that "as of the institution of so-called 'no fault divorce' in the late 70's - has one motivation and only one. That is, to legitimate adultery by women."

This man is not fringe. ANCPR is one of the most popular (and nastiest) fathers' rights groups out there. It's driving force is helping men get out of paying child support. Jaks himself owed $100,000 in child support and penalties to his two ex-wives. I hope he continues to be denied contact with his son. It's for the best.

Lowell Jaks Due To Be Released November 9

Update January 25, 2005: Welcome, everyone who is coming here from Wampum's Koufax Awards "Best Series" nomination. This series of posts is about Lowell Jaks, the founder of the Alliance for Noncustodial Parents Rights (ANCPR), an especially nasty fathers' rights group. Jaks had kidnapped his son and spirited him away to the Dominican Republic. His son is now back in the states with his mother. Jaks just finished serving a prison sentence. I have followed this story from the very beginning. This is the newest post. To catch the entire story, start from the bottom of this category and read forward. Jaks and ANCPR are examples of how horrible fathers' rights groups and activists really are. They are not concerned with the best interests of women and children, nor do they represent decent fathers.

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My long-time readers know that I have been following the Lowell Jaks case from the very beginning. Lowell Jaks, the founder of the fathers' rights group Alliance For Non-Custodial Parents Rights, is due to be released from prison on November 9. He is in jail for kidnapping his son Alec and spiriting him away to the Dominican Republic. For the full story on this case, please visit my entire Lowell Jaks/ANCPR category on my blog.

I heard from his ex-wife, Elaine, who sent me a recent article about Jaks's time in jail. I don't care much for the article because it portrays Jaks in a rather positive light, as if he is merely a beleagered father who wanted only to spend more time with his son, and that he was willing to go to jail because he wanted to be with his son. Read my entire Jaks/ANCPR category to get the real story. You'll see how inaccurate the positive depiction really is.

The reporter found my Jaks/ANCPR category on my blog because a comment Nicole Jaks, Jaks' daughter from his first marriage, left on my blog is quoted in the article:

"In a letter on an Internet site about the Jaks situation, she wrote: "Mr. Jaks has stated that children need the love of their father not his money, but I know we didn't feel that way when my mother had to work extra hours and be gone longer, leaving us with no parent, or depending on the welfare system."

The good news is that Alec is doing very well since being returned to his mother. I'm happy to hear that. Jaks is unrepentant, and I fear that once released he may attempt to kidnap Alec again. From the article:

Jaks said he feels he was unfairly prosecuted. He said Alec asked to be with him and he feels, "If a young boy wants to live with his dad, that's the end of the matter. Mothers should not have a say in that." He acknowledged it "made me sick to take him (Alec) away from his mother." But, he added, "Some things are just right to do even if you know that most people feel it's wrong."

A Letter From Lowell Jaks, In Jail

Update, July 2, 2004: Here it is two weeks later, and Lowell Jaks still must not be getting any fan mail. What's the point of kidnapping your son and taking him to a third world country, away from his family and friends, his school, and medical assistance if he needs it, if no one knows what great sacrifices you've made in the name of fathers' rights? Why bother to go to jail for "the cause" if no one knows or cares that you're there? This post from the same fathers' rights mailing list as the other one practically begs people to write to Jaks while he rots away, unpraised, in jail. It's the third item down on the mailing list post. It's makes a BIG point twisting around what Jaks had done in writing "We don't endorse what he did. [Sure they don't. Heh.] It is a crime. He should be punished. But all of us know the anguish of being separated from our children, and perhaps similar thoughts we've had to "make things better." Fathers have no rights! Write to him while he sits in jail, wasting away! While I had not named the mailing list in my original post, I will name it in the update - A Kid's Right. The owner, John Murtari, has a penchant for stalking Senator Hillary Clinton. He's spent more than his share of time in jail. What is it with fathers' rights activists and jail time?

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Poor Lowell Jaks. Here he is, sitting in jail, trying to pass himself off as the Martyr For Fathers' Rights, and he has had no visitors. Hardly anyone has written to him, even after fathers' rights activists posted his mailing address at jail on their mailing lists. His Alliance For Non-Custodial Parents Rights (ANCPR) buddies have given him a wide birth. This letter he penned from behind bars has appeared on a fathers' rights mailing list that will go unnamed. I have the original in my back-up files. As expected, he shows no remorse for kidnapping his son and spiriting him away to the Dominican Republic, all in the name of fathers' rights. He wrote that "self centered, self absorbed, hedonism, consumerism" blocks one off from what is real. It's ironic that all of that is what got him in trouble in the first place.

Get a load of this claim of his - that the "no fault" divorce "industry" exists for one purpose: "to legitimate adultery by women."

You've gotta be kidding me.

Regarding all the New Age blather and the talk of becoming a monk, remember that he has also operated as a psychic.

"Thank you so much for your letter. And also, thank you for the $10 you
included. A precious few have written to me, each appreciated greatly.
I am not surprised that news and discussion of me has receded - you
of all people, I'm sure, are aware of how lonely is the effort to
raise awareness of the issues we face.

I have already accepted a 'deal'. I'll get a year in county jail,
followed by two years probation. I have avoided doing much explaining
of my actions. That is because my motivations were extremely
personal, and I doubt that the particulars of my situation are really
applicable or pertinent for others. With the way things work here, a
year may mean that I'll be out of jail before Thanksgiving, perhaps
even sometime in October. Of course, there is always the possibility
that Federal authorities could arrest me and try me for federal
charges as well. If that were to happen, and I were convicted, there
could be a lot more time in a federal penitentiary. Only time will
tell.

I am actually doing quite well here in jail. As I'm sure you know,
jail is actually quite liberating. I even have people who wash and
fold my underwear for me, at the county's expense! It's really
amazing how many people are faced with family law issues here in jail.
I would say most are. One observation, which is apropo -- most of the
guys are fine with flaunting the laws with respect to drugs and
alcohol, yet to risk incarceration because of a protest action on
child support, or some other family law issue would, I'm sure, be out
of the question. Isn't that really the problem though? Self
centered, self absorbed, hedonism, consumerism, etc. -- It blocks one
off from what is real -- from what really matters.

I don't have any family near to where I am incarcerated -- no
visitors. I have received mail from my father, one of my brothers, and
my oldest daughter.

Most people in our society. I believe, are frightened by anyone who
steps outside the law. Most people would rather forget such an
"outlaw" and therefore relegate such a one to the status of a
'non-existant' or 'non-person'. Its a little like most people's
attitude toward death- best kept at a distance.

I treat this time - I conceptualize this time - as if I had taken vows
in a monastery. It really isn't much different. In truth, I have
often thought of living as a monk. The stories of those who have had
themselves sealed off in a cave for years had held appeal for me since
I was very young. In my meditations, shortly before embarking on this
most recent path. I was able to achieve a degree of attunement that
felt as if I could really maintain equipoise, even in a jail -- even
if all the trappings of ego had been stripped away. Subsequent events
have confirmed that this is indeed so. Spiritually, then, these
events have constituted a kind of initiation. You may think of this
time as one of a lesson in detachment. Can one look upon all as one
-- without differentiating as to status, etc.? Can one do the same as
to any vicissitude? Jail in the Dominican Republic is a particularly
apt place to find out the truth! Miami Dade county jail is another.

I am not allowed any contact whatsoever with my son. I expect that in
a month or so that may change. Before we left on this adventure,
while we were discussing the possibility of leaving -- I had let him
know that if we were caught, we would be separated for a long
time. He's very resilient -- a real 'go with the flow' kind of a kid.
I'm glad we did what we did. I'm proud of what I did. I went a head
with this action, not out of vengeance, but out of the conviction that
it was the right thing to do, under the circumstances.

When I look at the current state of affairs with respect to Family
Law. I am forced to conclude that there is no hope of any significant
reform. Look at the size and ubiquity of the Child Support Industry.
Look at the size of the additional industry surrounding custody
issues. Look at the size and proliferation of the entire legal and
social edifice surrounding Domestic Violence issues. We got there
because few people any more are even capable of critical thought. We
are a culture driven by emotionalism and utilitarianism. This leads
to a system in which the ends justify the means, with zero tolerance
becoming the norm.

There is also a very sordid side to all of this. I would make
argument that the entire edifice of modern family law -- which, by the
way, is wholly and entirely new, as of the institution of so-called
"no fault divorce" in the late 70's -- has one motivation and only
one. That is, to legitimate adultery by women. Every single law
giver in the history of mankind has warned of this - from Moses to
Manu. This has led to a wholesale denigration of fatherhood on a
scale never before seen. It's no ones fault. It's merely a
reflection of the times in which we are living. We are in a time of
decline, and there is nothing you can do about it. In times like this
the only sensible advice is that proffered by Buddha - his last words
- "Seek your own salvation, diligently."

Again, thank you so much for writing me, John! "

Lowell Jaks

Fathers' Rights Activists Found My Jaks Posts

Here is more proof that fathers' rights activists are not concerned with "the best interests of the child," despite their loud protestations to the contrary. I've mentioned Robert Cheney, a. k. a. "Aaron Burr," in previous posts. Trust me, he's speaking from experience. He even admitted it in the post below. He's made a career out of landing in jail for willful refusal to pay child support he has been ordered to pay. This guy is a real piece of work.

Being jailed for refusal to pay child support as ordered by the court is not as common as conspiracy moonbats like Cheney want dads to think. There is no "debtor's prison" alive and well in the U. S. There is a difference between being unable to pay for good reason and being unwilling to pay. Guys don't land in jail for not paying child support. They land in jail for willfully refusing to follow a court order. They also have to work very hard to land in jail. All other methods of obtaining payment such as liens, garnishment, seizure of assets, payment plans, and the like are exhausted before jail time even becomes a possibility. Even poor dads in the fatherhood initiatives so dear to the Dept. of Health and Human Services aren't tossed in jail so readily. Some of them have seen their past arrearages forgiven in exchange for enrolling in a "male involvement" program. If a man is truly having a rough time that is not temporary in nature, and is not feigning in order to avoid paying, he is not tossed in jail.

For men like Cheney, "bend-over-and-pick-up-your-bar-of-soap" becomes a way of life.

Please note that the person to whom Cheney is responding has found his information from reading my blog. This post originated on a fathers' rights mailing list that will go unnamed. Oh, one more point. Someone should remind Cheney that Jaks had kidnapped his son because he refuses to pay child support he owed not only to his son's mother but also to his other ex-wife. Jaks has only himself to blame for the predicament he is in now. I think Cheney's self-centered blathering is an example of "I feel the pain you're gonna feel, Dude." Maybe it's time to re-read that post I wrote about narcissists, divorce, and contentious custody cases...

From:  Aaron Burr [email deleted]
Date:  Thu Apr 29, 2004  7:30 pm
Subject:  Re: Jaks sentence - a/k/a if you want something done.......

Dear David,

No. This is NOT a good sentence.

First, he should not be in jail at all....

Secondly, the sentence is a scam, and I predict, will end in disaster for
him. The DA and county are acting in bad faith. They are not just going
to let him out and then let him serve out the rest of his Parole in
peace. No! They are going to screw around with him. They are going to
harass him. THEY ARE GOING TO GET HIM BACK IN JAIL FOR 'PAROLE VIOLATION'
ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR MAYBE FIVE MORE TIMES!!!

If he cannot pay his extortion amounts (which are EVEN ACCRUING WHILE HE IS
IN PRISON!) If he owed $10,000 in back child support, when he gets out he
will owe almost double that.

The nanosecond he gets a job, they will vacuum virtually the whole amount
to let him live in poverty. He will pay for CS and not see his son any
more (great system).

They will electronically deduct and garnish his wages--yet soon (within the
first year) even if everything goes perfect he will be about $500 BEHIND in
his child support payments. (How can you get behind on electronic
deduction from your wages??) They do this all the time.

What they are doing, is they NEED men to fall behind so the county can
check a box called PARTIAL PAYMENTS. This box will show the Feds that
there are THOUSANDS of 'bad 'ol dads' who are pathologically, "behind" in
payments. (Poof! The county has just given themselves more money coming
in from the Feds to combat this "terrible problem' (which they invent
against many unsuspecting fathers.) It's all about "checking boxes" and the
county 'may' put Lowell back in prison just on this fraud alone (if he
can't then cough up the one or two payments the 'computer' will
mysteriously keep him behind. Even if he pays, then poof! Again, a few
months later, lo! He's behind again.

This is not a guess...it happened to me, and it is happening to INNUMERABLE
fathers across the country. This is 'not' just a "California" problem.

Then there is the continued harrasment. "IF" he does not comply, he will
lose his license. Once he loses that, anf "IF" he gets pulled over without
it (or merely doesn't produce "valid ID" upon any officers request--then he
goes back to jail.

Again, this whole thing is complete slavery. The majority of men never get
through it. Many commit suicide because of the hopelessness...yet, the
courts, the DA and the whole system exactly knows what they are
doing. They will sadistically torture him until some disaster strikes.

This is how this whole situation got started in the first place! Lowell
begged the courts not to PAS him from his son, and they just scoffed at
him. Poof! Lowell (correctly) leaves with his son to another
(non-extradtion country). We should fight this case just to see how much
they spent on Lowell, and how they got a non-extradition country to
extradite him.

Methinks 'bribe' is the operative word here--and this begs the
question--how much money will they spend to hunt men back into slavery?

What has happened to Lowell should be protested by every human in
America. Fathers' should be visibly outraged at what occurred to Lowell,
and one thing is sure--we got to stop this madness.

These people who are doing this to this poor man, are our enemies.

This finally brings up the point, of how all men just simply accepting this
slavery--is giving them untold amounts of money and power. Men across
this nation MUST start refusing to pay child support. It is only a system
which invests in our destruction. All men in this nation are paying child
support so it can destroy both them, and their children.

We must recognize this fact, and refuse to pay child support.

Start destroying this evil system, stop paying child support.

Hope this helps.

Aaron

At 10:38 AM 4/29/04, you wrote:

>
>Google search on Jaks sentence shows he got 365 days. In NJ, a similar
>case just resulted in 5 years - he's lucky. With good time, he should be
>out by August.
>
>April 18, 2004
>
>ANCPR's Lowell Jaks Pleads Guilty To Felony Child Stealing
>
>I heard from Elaine Jackson, Lowell Jaks's ex-wife. For those who haven't
>caught this story, Lowell Jaks is the head of the very popular and very
>nasty fathers' rights group, the Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights
>(ANCPR). Jaks had kidnapped his son and spirited him away to the Dominican
>Republic. He has since been found by authorities and extradited to
>California. Mr. Jaks and his organization present themselves as being
>concerned only with helping fathers remain in their children's lives after
>divorce, but both are primarily concerned with finding ways to avoid child
>support obligations and lording it over their ex's, using the children as
>weapons. Kidnapping as an abusive act of retaliation isn't something good
>fathers do.
>
>According to Ms. Jackson, "Lowell Jaks has pleaded guilty to felony child
>stealing on March 29 and will be sentenced on April 27. I have been
>informed that he will be sentenced to a fixed-term of 365 days in jail of
>which he will serve about 180 days, then he will be on 3 years
>probation. The upshot is that he will get to spend his time in county
>jail rather that going to state prison, which I assume had bearing on his
>guilty plea. I was hoping to work in a psych eval but apparently he's
>been too well behaved for them to think it warranted."
>
>Alec Jaks (the son) is doing much better now. He's getting caught up on
>missed schoolwork and adjusting to the entire situation. I'm very happy to
>hear that.
>
>Here are all of the links to my blog posts about Lowell Jaks, ANCPR, and
>the kidnapping:

[Trish's note - links deleted. I'm going to create a new category for all of the Lowell Jaks posts in a few minutes.]

More Portrayal of Lowell Jaks As A "Victim"

William Wagener is the host of a cable public access show, an active member of the Libertarian Party of California, and a fathers' rights advocate. If Mr. Wagener is angry that California taxpayers will have to pony up $35,000 to provide Lowell Jaks with three hots and a cot, he should blame Jaks, not Jaks' ex-wife and "the system." Lowell Jaks and the supporters of his popular organization ANCPR have never been concerned with the proper parenting of children. Jaks brought on all of his problems himself. The whining displayed by Mr. Wagener is exactly what you will see when you refuse to coddle a fathers' rights advocates' overblown sense of entitlement. First, they sulk when they don't get their way. Then, they get ugly when they cannot bully others into giving them what they demand.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Mr. Wagener had a couple of additional wives that his legal wife was probably not very happy about? The web site for the 2002 Santa Barbara County Elections pointed out that "[h]is run for the Santa Maria City Council recently was thwarted, he said, by revelations of a nasty lawsuit in the early '90s. Court testimony indicated that Mr. Wagener had a legal wife at the time, and three others who signed "marriage contracts" drawn up by Mr. Wagener. He was sued by his second "wife" over the custody of their two sons." He blew it off, saying that he had "engaged in plural marriage years ago."

Kangaroo bones, wingnuts who dress up like Spider-Man and scale tall buildings, bigamy... I swear you can't make this stuff up.

This post originally appeared on a fathers' rights mailing list that will go unnamed.

TUESDAY, Bakersfield,CA. By William Wagener Defendant Lowell Jaks, was sentenced today after accepting a felony charge without trial. Judge Collette Humphrey, as the urging of the female prosecutor ordered this dedicated father to fill up space in a State Prison, for taking his 12 year old son out of the State, without Court permission. Jaks was ordered to pay for the cost of flight back, etc. Mr. Jaks, looking somewhat content, said not a word. It was all over in 5 minutes. Now it will cost the taxpayers of State of California in excess of $35,000 to keep this father of his son, from his estranged and bitter mother of that son, locked up. It started by being a routine custody case, where the mother claims she is most fit, and "he" is unfit to be custodial parent. From there it was all down hill, until finally, it is claimed the 12 year old son, begged his Father, Lowell Jaks to "get me outta here". Mr. Jaks, did just that and was caught in the Carribean and arrested and returned to face the obvious null factoid, that a Father had stolen his own son. How is that possible. How does one steal his own son. It starts by being labeled in Court a NON-Custodial parent[NCP], then vilified over and over, while watching your son suffer daily. This might seem a strange take on the day of sentencing, when the "defendant-Father" did not ask for jury, did not say a word. His act alone to help his son "escape." The deed said it all. But in Bakersfield, CA. where not too long ago, a retired police officer had a rebellious son, who took up living the HIGH LIFE with a former [not dead] Kern County assistant District Attorney. The allegation that the Asst. D.A. of Kern county was "using" the retired police officers under-age son as his personal "boy toy" in a homosexual and highly illegal relationship, puts a different hue on the Jaks story. The retired police officer was convicted of killing the active duty Asst. D.A., and he did it to protect his wayward, rebellious teenage son, who died in a car crash, facilitated by the Asst. D.A., who after all is suppose to UPHOLD the law, now pervert it to his own personal perversions with minor boys. Most folks I spoke to believed absolutely, that the Asst. D.A. had committed some form of sexual fornication with the minor. Many felt no remorse that the retired police officer, also swarn to uphold the law, took a life. The entire sentencing was captured on digital video tape, by court permission. This case was of course only about Mr. Jaks, or was it. Was the system of Justice really on trial? Has it become a crime to be a hetersexual father who cares about your sons concerns to go to the length Mr. Jaks did? And in a city now reknown for the alleged homosexual Asst. D.A. murder by an angry father, and a policeman at that. The basic fact is, once you are labeled NCP, you are already set up to become a criminal, so the perverters of justice, can drain you of every dime in a system that claims the "best Interests of the child", but makes sure the divorce industry profits a lot, and perhaps, even to let homosexuals in the District Attorney's office abuse their power, and the constitution that they allegedly took an oath to uphold. Watch Judge Collette Humphreys, hand down the sentence, she was mandated to give, one becomes painfully aware that the "system" has failed. No one who has not been convicted of prior felonies should be forced to be a NCP. Mr. Jaks, silently turned and went with jailors to start his ordeal as a "father felon", who cared too much. What a crime. There were no protests outside the Kern County Courthouse, no one, not even the Public defender said a single word in Mr. Jaks defense. One had the sense of what it was like to FEEL jews being tried in a Nazi Court. All caught on tape, with permission of the court, by Wm Wagener, Tv Host and Producer of On Second Thought. May Peace and Capitalism Prevail.

Lowell Jaks's Original Plea - Innocent

This article at The Mercury News is available only by registration, which is why I'm including the portion about Lowell Jaks here in full. Jaks has since pleaded guilty.

A "parents' rights advocate"? Who do they think they're kidding?

Posted on Wed, Mar. 17, 2004 News from the San Joaquin Valley Associated Press --- BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) - A parents' rights advocate from Ridgecrest has pleaded innocent to charges of child stealing. Lowell Anton Jaks, 52, was arrested Feb. 27 in the Dominican Republic on a $100,000 warrant. He entered his plea Tuesday and is due back in Kern County Superior Court on March 29. Authorities alleges Jaks took his 10-year-old son, Alec Jaks, as the boy was riding his bicycle to school. The mother of the boy and the defendant's ex-wife, Elaine Jackson, had a protective order that prohibited Jaks from being around his son, authorities said. Jaks founded the nonprofit Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights in 1994.

No, he didn't. He founded it in 1997, mainly with hope of avoiding his child support obligation.

Fathers' Rights Party Line: What Lowell Jaks Did Was Wrong, But.. But... But...

Let the chest-thumping, backpedaling, side-stepping, and melodramatic torch-bearing begin. Fathers rights activists will do whatever they can to turn a criminal who had kidnapped his son into a Poster Boy and martyr for their movement.

Fathers rights activist John Murtari, who founded "A Kid's Right," was released from jail after his latest episode of stalking Senator Hillary Clinton long enough to release another mailing list action alert that included information for fathers' rightsters who want to write to Lowell Jaks in jail.

Get a load of this tripe. These people refuse to see that Jaks is not a "victim" of the system, or of his ex-wife, or of anyone else. He kidnapped his son as a power ploy against his ex-wife. This was not the act of a father who cares about his child's welfare. It was an abusive act of control and retaliation. It was also a retaliatory act to avoid paying child support. Fathers' rights activists who endorse the recommendations in the mailing list post below not only support what Jaks had done, they are willing to help him get away with it.

Here is the portion of the "A Kid's Right" mailing pertaining to Jaks:

6. Write to Lowell Jaks - in jail. --------------------------------- For more background on Lowell, please see earlier list messages at: [deletia] -- Lowell had been made an NCP by the Court. He decided to take his child and leave the country; the other parent out of the child's life. He was arrested. We don't endorse what he did. It is a crime. He should be punished. But all of us know the anguish of being separated from our children, and perhaps similar thoughts we've had to "make things better." We don't need to agree with what he did, but certainly let's show him our compassion. Jail can be a lonely place. One of the greatest things to get is a letter! If you wish to be inspired by this tragedy -- then SACRIFICE to change the system that drives good people to perform such hopeless acts. Following Submitted by: "Aaron Burr" [email deleted] > Legends Legal Aid Society is attempting to assist Mr. Lowell Jaks, who now > sits in a jail in Kern County California. > > We need "someone" in the area to act as a legal runner for Lowell. We, > unfortunately, are 500 miles away--so we will develop the legal paperwork > for him, but we need 'some volunteer' to do things like serve the Kern > County California DA, the Court, etc. > Specifically, we need someone to go to the court clerk and get the: > 1.) Complaint. > 2.) The Police or DA report > 3.) Look over his documentation and court minutes and get them to us. > > I called the Kern County Courts and Jail. Currently, Lowell is at: > > LOWELL JAKS [prison information deleted] > I am certain that any letters from "you" would be of great > encouragement to Lowell, as he has no family. Also, you may send him > books, which also would be of assistance (order them through the > bookstore, as the 'publisher' has to mail them to him).

"Aaron Burr" is Robert Cheney, an original signatory and founding member of Fathers' Manifesto. He is also a founding member and signatory of Fathers' Manifesto's DEMAND, which included these statements as its platform:

The first amendment right to free exercise of religion has not been repealed. 2. My religion is Christianity. 3. It is a fundamental principle of Christianity that children belong to fathers--not the state nor any other body nor individual. 4. I DEMAND that my children be returned to my care immediately. 5. PERIOD.

Fathers' Manifesto is also responsible for the anti-Semitic "Talmud Survey" hate site.

He was a member (the only one?) of The Sovereign Patriot Group, in California. That explains his internet alias. He sees himself as some sort of patriot. A hero. He is neither. He spent time in jail himself for willful refusal to pay child support. Father's rights activists had also organized letter-writing campaigns and protests when he was behind bars. He has also made some rather insidious, abusive, and manipulative suggestions regarding how men may get back at their ex-wives.

Please note that Murtari is back to stalking Senator Clinton. I'm sure he'll be back in jail again soon. Maybe he and Jaks can write to each other from behind bars.

7. NonViolent Action continues - Syracuse. ----------------------------------------- John Murtari returned to the Syracuse Federal Building in our continuing attempt to petition Senator Hillary R. Clinton for a meeting with parents. He was arrested, arraigned and release by Federal Magistrate DiBianco. John plans on returning to the building on Monday, April 5th. Your support and participation is welcome and needed! Details at: [deletia]

For dads who supposedly want only to do right by their children, these guys sure spend a lot of time earning three hots and a cot. They also engage in hate speech and they incite aggressive behavior on their mailing lists. Neither Lowell Jaks nor his Internet fathers' rights group, The Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights (ANCPR) is concerned with the welfare of children or with helping fathers become better parents. None of these activities is in the best interests of anyone, let alone children.

ANCPR's Lowell Jaks Pleads Guilty To Felony Child Stealing

I heard from Elaine Jackson, Lowell Jaks's ex-wife. For those who haven't caught this story, Lowell Jaks is the head of the very popular and very nasty fathers' rights group, the Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights (ANCPR). Jaks had kidnapped his son and spirited him away to the Dominican Republic. He has since been found by authorities and extradicted to California. Mr. Jaks and his organization present themselves as being concerned only with helping fathers remain in their children's lives after divorce, but both are primarily concerned with finding ways to avoid child support obligations and lording it over their ex's, using the children as weapons. Kidnapping as an abusive act of retaliation isn't something good fathers do.

According to Ms. Jackson, "Lowell Jaks has pleaded guilty to felony child stealing on March 29 and will be sentenced on April 27.  I have been informed that he will be sentenced to a fixed-term of 365 days in jail of which he will serve about 180 days, then he will be on 3 years probation.  The upshot is that he will get to spend his time in county jail rather that going to state prison, which I assume had bearing on his guilty plea.  I was hoping to work in a psych eval but apparently he’s been too well behaved for them to think it warranted."

Alec Jaks (the son) is doing much better now. He's getting caught up on missed schoolwork and adjusting to the entire situation. I'm very happy to hear that.

Here are all of the links to my blog posts about Lowell Jaks, ANCPR, and the kidnapping:

Fathers' Rights Activist Kidnapped His Son

NCMEC - Lowell and Alec Jaks

MensNewsDaily Turns Jaks Into A "Victim"

Fathers' Rights Advocates Support Jaks Kidnapping Son

The Aftermath of ANCPR's Lowell Jaks Kidnapping His Son

Trish Wilson's Blog: Lowell Jaks Update - includes Polly Klaas Foundation link and a link to Lowell Jaks's psychic web page. (Yes, you read that right.)

ANCPR/Lowell Jaks Update - Alec Jaks Has Been Found And Returned To His Mother

Lowell and Alec Jaks Update - Dominican Republic

Alec Jaks' Return - More Details

Alec Jaks' Return - More Details

An article in the California newspaper, The Daily Independent Online, provided details about Alec Jaks returning home. Lowell Jaks is in custody in Florida, and is soon due to be extradited to California, if he hasn't been already.

Jaks was safely reunited with his mother, Elaine Jackson, in the Dominican Republic Saturday evening, more than 24 hours after being notified by Investigator Charles Brown of the Kern County District Attorney's Office that Jaks had been found. "Alec is in good health and in good spirits, and we are so happy to have him home, especially Liam," said Jackson, referring to Jaks' 18-month-old brother. Lowell Jaks remains in custody of the Dominican National Police. He will be extradited to the United States shortly. Brown, who spearheaded the investigation, said that sophisticated electronic surveillance methods were used to track Lowell Jaks and his son first to Mexico, and later to the Dominican Republic. While there, Lowell Jaks moved his son from town to town, until he was arrested in Caberete. According to Jackson, Lowell Jaks was recognized by a peace officer as he tried to use an Automated Teller Machine, and later apprehended.

Here are some other articles:

Lowell Jaks Awaiting Extradition, by Jessica Tamturk. March 10, 2004. "Lowell Jaks is currently being detained by U.S. authorities in Miami, Fla. awaiting extradition to Bakersfield, where he is expected to be arraigned as early as Monday for allegedly abducting his son."

A month later, family still has hopes. Alec Jaks' whereabouts still unknown, by Jessica Tamturk. February 27, 2004. "An Internet search Tuesday led to unconfirmed reports of the involvement of the federal agency in Mexico and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic."

The Daily Independent Online, by Jessica Tamturk. February 3, 2004. "According to The Daily Independent's advertising sales records, Lowell Jaks placed six separate ads in the daily paper for the sale of appliances, state-of-the-art audio-video equipment and power tools. He promoted a weekend-long garage sale on the weekend of Jan. 16 through Jan. 18, and put out a notice to find homes for his three dogs." Hmmm... a man described by some fathers' rights activists as destitute and driving a clunker could afford "state-of-the-art audio-video equipment." Guys, looks like your ANCPR membership fees might have paid for all of Jaks' fancy home entertainment equipment.

ANCPR/Lowell Jaks Update - Alec Jaks Has Been Found And Returned To His Mother

Nicole Jaks, Lowell Jaks's daughter from his first marriage, has posted the good news in my comments section. The "wanted" posters have been taken down from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children web site, and Elaine Jackson has removed the "time missing" graphic from her web site. If and when I receive more updates, I will post them.

The father's rights supporters who posted in support of Jaks on my blog and on their own mailing lists and in articles, including those who went as far as to malign Elaine on fathers rights mailing lists (and me in comments here and on their own blogs), should take a good, hard look at what Ms. Jaks has written. Lowell Jaks is no hero. He is an abusive loser whose very popular organization the Alliance for Noncustodial Parents Rights (ANCPR) assists assorted malcontents who want to avoid paying child support and who bash the mothers of their children. ANCPR also includes women such as second wives and subsequent girlfriends who side with their men against the hated ex-wife/ex-girlfriend. ANCPR is typical of the fathers' rights movement. Those who think or try to convince people otherwise are either fooling themselves or trying to pull a fast one.

I'm happy to have done what little I could to help. Bloggers linked to the story, driving the truth of the kidnapping and Jaks's and ANCPR's true agenda to the first search page when "Lowell Jaks" and similar search text is entered into Google. It might have been only a little bit, but as far as I'm concerned, every little bit helped. I hope in the end justice is served.

Here is what Nicole Jaks wrote in my comments:

I thought people reading these posts that support Lowell (my father) would like to hear a little insight from one of his adult children! He has a daughter the same age as Alec's Mom. Then he married my Mom and had me and my younger brother before he remarried and had Alec. He never or barely child support for me, and barely/sorta paid for my brother. He also threatened to abduct us from my Mom when we were about the same age as Alec is now. He gave up any interest in that close relationship he rants and raves to be necessary between children and father when we were about Alec's age. I had honestly predicted that he would go offer and start a new family and forget about Alec like he had us. But, sadly for Alec, I was wrong. He has always been verbally and mentally abusive, and was definitely physically abusive of my Mom and me (at least one time I clearly remember). Does this really seem like a man who cares so deeply about his children? Mr Jaks has stated that children need the love of their father not his money (basically), but I know we didn't feel that way when my Mother had to work extra hours and be gone longer, leaving us with no parent, or depending on the Welfare system. Mr Jaks is highly intelligent and equally unstable. He has serious anger management issues among other psychological problems. When the court was to decide custody and visitation for Alec in Ca, I was living in Co. Alec's mother and her wonderful new husband asked me to testify on Elaine's behalf. I chose not to testify for fear of permanently severing the realtionship with my father. Now, I wish I would have testified and I wish it would have helped. It may not've reduced his visitation, but maybe it would've shown Alec that someone other than his Mom can testify as to his father's destructive nature. I talked to Alec a few days after he got back from the Dominican Republic. He has obviously been VERY strongly swayed by our father toward his worship. Alec said his Dad "took him on a month vacation without homework!" It was sad to hear Alec's attitude regarding the horrible, controlling, manipulative, abusive thing his father had done. Alec's Mom and I hope this is some sort of coping mechanism Alec has devised to deal with his father's illness. I have a son of my own and I even fear his safety at times. I had tried to regain a relationship with my father in the summer of 2003. I was expecting my first child and felt the pull toward family, even if just for my son to know his Granddad. I flew to Ca from Chicago to visit Mr Jaks. Our relationship was surviving because he wasn't as zealous about his ancpr-type ideas as usual. I planned a 3 week stay with him, but after 1 week, I was frantically packing my bags to leave. The extreme, woman-hating man in Mr Jaks reared his ugly head around day two, but I let the comments and sick opinions roll off of my back for a few days. At my boiling point, I spoke back with my opinion. This was unacceptable to him,probably especially since I am a female. (I'm not exaggerating to make him look worse, he does a fine job of that on his own!) Perhaps, other readers would be interested in knowing that my younger brother has not been on speaking terms with Mr Jaks for some time now because my brother decided he would no longer tolerate Mr Jaks' verbal and emotional abuse. Mr Jaks has always tried to control his children, though he never provided for them... never provided in anyway, including emotionally, spiritually, physically, OR financially. I believe he adopted his philosophical abhorance of the cs system after he didn't want to pay... not after he felt it separated him from the love of his children. During our heated argument when I was packing to leave his home, I posed this theory. He was furious and claimed that that is what the system would have me think. Alas, I have been duped! Or have I? Maybe I touched a little too close to the truth. When someone falied to reflect the beautiful man Mr Jaks yearned to see back at him, he relinquished his pursuit for a relationship with us. Alec adores his father, so Mr Jaks keeps him as close as he can. If Alec realizes what a dangerous, awful man Mr Jaks is, Alec too will be relinquished from Mr Jaks pursuit. It's just so sad that Alec had to endure the life-changing event of parental abduction for Mr Jaks' sick personal benefit. I implore anyone who's "on my father's side" to contact me if they think I have unfairly portrayed him. I can give plenty of details and anecdotes to support my claims and opinions, as do many members of my family!

The Aftermath of ANCPR's Lowell Jaks Kidnapping His Son

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

There have been some interesting reactions from fathers' rights activists in light of Lowell Jaks kidnapping his son. Mostly, they are being quiet about it because they know it has shined a light on how much their "children need both parents" platform is nothing but hot air. I also think that some of them are being quiet because they know where Jaks is located, and they may be assisting him in hiding his son. This is big, because Jaks' fathers' rights group, the Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights (ANCPR) has been frequently quoted, linked, and highly recommended by other fathers' rights web sites, groups, and activists since the late 1990s. What Jaks has done has shown up these groups and their supporters for what they really are. Their agenda is all about controlling women through the court system, griping over their loss of their sense of entitlement, and avoiding their child support obligations, all the while giving lip service to child welfare and parenting.

Fathers' rights activists are publicly distancing themselves from what Jaks has done because they recognize the damage it does to their movement. They make excuses, attempting to separate a so-called "legitimate" fathers' rights movement from the "extremists" who do things like kidnap their children. The "extremists" ARE the fathers' rights movement. The talk of "legitimate" vs. "extremists" is damage control. Some activists are distancing themselves and backpedaling like mad. Richard Bennett has recently trolled my comments section and he has taken to personally slamming me on his own blog, a practice that I understand from other bloggers has been par for the course for him for the several years he has slimed the blogosphere. Even one who agrees with his bigoted views has nonetheless called him "intellectually lazy." How fitting.

I have not heard a peep from Bennett for about five years. I find it highly telling that he magically comes out of the woodwork to attack me now, after I have written about Lowell Jaks. He defends Jaks, yet at the same time backpedals by weakly condemning the kidnapping, hoping to deflect attention away from the seriousness of this matter by bringing up unrelated kidnappings done by women. It's damage control, pure and simple.

Other fathers' rights activists are engaging in similar forms of damage control. Comments on the American Family Rights Association web site include "Lowell Jaks may have set the Equal parenting movement back 20 years by abducting his son (if that's what he indeed did). [...]  Lowell, if you did this, I feel your pain... but you harmed us more than you helped." Another commentor wrote that "[t]he abduction of a child is a wrongful action by anyone... when it is perpetrated by a "leader" in the movement for children's rights, we are injured as well as saddened.  [I]t lowers our credibility and creates more hoops for us to jump through." Dean Tong, a "forensic consultant" who was actually trained as an emergency medical technician, wrote in an e-mail that circulated a mailing list that those who go the way Jaks went make it "too easy for the feminists and the future John Kerry's of this land to pee upon fathers." Glenn Sacks, a commentor on MensNewsDaily with his own fathers' rights oriented radio program wrote, "I think we all can agree that parental abductions are an evil, and that in some extreme cases they are the lesser evil. I do know fathers whose situations are so terrible and unjust that parental abduction is defensible. What evidence is there that Lowell Jaks' case is one of them?"

Jaks's situation was not "terrible" or "unjust." According to his ex-wife, Elaine Jackson, "[the judge] gave him every other weekend and Wednesday overnights, and since Lowell worked at home (on ANCPR) the Court made him in charge of daycare while I worked. " Jackson did not "alienate" him from his son, nor did she interfere with his visitation. Jaks fled with his son because he owed a great deal of child support to his first ex-wife and he had refused to pay it. He also owed some child support to Jackson, his second ex-wife. Her second wife status is interesting in and of itself. More on that in a later post. He had stopped paying Jackson in August, 2003, and told her that he would no longer pay her "a dime." Jaks had been abusive to Jackson while they were married. She left him in January 2000, "because he had progressively gotten more controlling and violent, hitting me in the face in October 1999."

Jaks's sole means of financial support was money he received through ANCPR, which he started in 1997 in because he did not want to pay child support. He did not start ANCPR to advocate reform of the court system to ensure equal rights or to help children cope with divorce. Ironically, Jackson told me that some of the child support checks she recieved from Jaks had ANCPR letterhead on them. Those who paid for ANCPR memberships were paying Jaks's child support. Before he fled with his son, his only means of transportation was a bicycle (so much for the clunker he supposedly drove). He also had completely isolated himself from the public.

The thing is that most of the fathers' rights activists who talk about Jaks don't agree that parental abductions are an "evil," to use Sacks's term. Far many more of these men have condoned what Lowell Jaks has done. The American Family Rights Association referred to the kidnapping as Jaks's "hard decision." While these activists condemn what he has done in public, the talk is overwhelmingly supportive of Jaks on their private mailing lists. I've seen this same phenomenon occur in the mid 1990s when Fathers' Manifesto was outed. I've already linked to Jim Untershine's MensNewsDaily article that holds Jaks up as a poster boy for male "victims" of "slavery." A man with the pseudonym "Aaron Burr" responded to Sacks's comments in the link above believes that "Lowell can no longer speak for himself; and he MUST remain underground at all costs--and NOT call ANY family, or friends, or ANYBODY as "they" are watching and silently monitoring all his associations right now to find out where he is. He MUST remain silent.We, who are within the Father's Rights movement; thereby, must speak for him. We must do so generously and eloquently, with far reaching syntax and analysis, in which to paint his act as noble and to completely justify it. Which I for one, do--as what I think what he did was magnificent.

He doesn't condemn what Jaks has done. He believes that men who do this sort of thing should be "canonized." These men see themselves as "slaves" of the court system when in actuality they are livid that they are unable to continue to control their ex-partner's activities after the break-up. So, they use the children and the court system as a weapon to continue their abuses.

Jaks apparently can speak fine for himself. I know that he has written to at least one fathers' rights activist since he kidnapped his son, and that activist may have helped him. That could very well be aiding and abetting a kidnapping. I have already forwarded that information to Elaine Jackson, who has forwarded it to the authorities. I seriously doubt that that activist is the only one who knows Jaks's and his sons' whereabouts.

Lowell Jaks Update

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

There is a new Wanted Poster on the Polly Klaas Foundation web site about Lowell and Alec Jaks. This one includes a picture of Lowell Jaks with a beard. He apparently considers himself a psychic, who goes by the name Amari Om.

How many fathers' rightsters who sent him ANCPR membership fees knew that he was that kind of shyster?

MensNewsDaily Turns Jaks Into A "Victim"

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

Unbelievable.

Jim Untershine, who sees himself as some kind of hero who exposes "Family Law in California as the exploitation of children for money and the indentured servitude of heterosexual taxpayers who dare to raise children in this country" (!!!) has written a real whopper about Lowell Jaks for MensNewsDaily.

Get a barf bag before you read that editorial. The smarmy tone is going to make you want to hurl.

He wrote -- get this -- "Lowell Jaks of the ANCPR may be attempting to seek asylum outside California to avoid slavery."

He even feigned concern for the boy's mother, since she does not know his whereabouts. Even though he wrote he has "fear for young Alec's safety," (yeah, sure he does) his main concern is that "the only complication that may prove a threat would be overzealous intervention by authorities attempting to apprehend a father in pursuit of his freedom and that of his son. It may be time to dust off the Emancipation Proclamation, to see if it mentions the Executive branch helping slaves attempting to secure their freedom."

Oh, come on. How much more transparent can he be? Jaks pulled an abusive power play when he kidnapped his son. Stop pretending he didn't. Any sane person who has visited the ANCPR web site and read posts on its mailing list knows damned well that Jaks isn't "a parent, who has inspired so many to fight within the system and to lobby peacefully for changes in the law."

Untershine played up Jaks as a victim of the system. Here's an excerpt, wondering why this fabulous dad would stoop to such a low as to kidnap his own son.

Could it be that the findings put forth in the Responsible Fatherhood Act, that describes the importance of shared parenting, are completely ignored by the Judicial branch in the state of California? Could it be because the laws that protect the rights of parents are not being enforced by the Executive branch uniformly and adequately throughout the state of California? Could it be the absence of due process in civil proceedings or the outrageous child support guidelines demanded from breadwinning parents in the state of California? Could it be the Bar Association actively choreographing officers of the civil and criminal courts to obstruct justice for profit in the state of California? Could it be the gag order that has been imposed on the media that prevents public awareness of the 'Sociological Warfare" being used against parents in the state of California?

This kidnapping is not about Jaks feeling that his son was not being properly taken care of. It's an abusive control maneuver to get back at his ex-wife. Nothing Untershine or any other fathers' rights activists who wax poetic about Jaks's "slave status" and "victimhood" will make that any different.

These guys do not ... DO NOT ... represent good fathers.

Fathers' Rights Advocates Support Jaks Kidnapping Son

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

It didn't take long for the supportive posts to roll in. Here are excerpts from the mailing list for the American Union of Men. These men are cheering that Lowell Jaks kidnapped his son, and took him away from his mother who had been raising him. All posts have been edited to delete e-mails. They have also been snipped for space.

These men give good dads a bad name. No one should praise a man who would kidnap his own child just to get out of paying a high child support debt.

--__--__--

From:  "Bob" < deletia >
Date:  Tue Feb 3, 2004  6:55 pm
Subject:  Re: Lowell Jaks' Wanted

     --- In aum@yahoogroups.com, Wilbur Streett wrote:
>
> (02-02) 07:57 PST RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) --
>
> A parents rights advocate is wanted by police, suspected of abducting his
> own son, officers said.

It is not possible for a father to "abduct" his own son. The police
and courts are terribly wrong and a gross insult to law and order.
They ought to be ridden out of town on a rail by decent men.

Elian [sic] Jackson ought to find herself down some mine shaft. Then let
her sue for "custody" (a radical feminist legal myth).

Bob

> Lowell Anton Jaks, 52, has a $100,000 felony warrant out for his arrest
> after Alec Norman Jaks disappeared last Tuesday morning on his way to
> Pierce Elementary School.
>
> Elaine Jackson, Lowell Jaks' ex-wife and the child's mother, had asked for
> a protective order on Jan. 21, when she first started suspecting her
> husband intended to take her child away.

[snip]

--__--__--

From:  "Bob" < deletia >
Date:  Tue Feb 3, 2004  6:56 pm
Subject:  Re: Here's more on Lowell Jaks Wanted

     --- In aum@yahoogroups.com, Wilbur Streett wrote:
> Quite honestly, I am surprised that we don't see more of this. I not only
> support him, but applaud his efforts.
>
> Eric

A year or so there was a report from Austrailia that one men's group
had started a "safe house" for children who the femernment was
trying to abduct from their fathers.

Bob

> From: http://www.thebakersfieldchannel.com/news/2813325/detail.html
>
> Boy Allegedly Abducted By Father
> School Failed To Notify Mother Of Child's Absence

[snip]

--__--__--

From:  "Bob" < deletia >
Date:  Wed Feb 4, 2004  3:37 pm
Subject:  Re: Here's more on Lowell Jaks Wanted

     --- In aum@yahoogroups.com, masculistman < deletia > wrote:
> Yeah,right,let's contact the police immediately < sarcasm >

That actually is a good suggestion. It won't hurt and may do some
good to phone the gun thugs on their business number, ask for the
Chief, and express your opinion as a concerned citizen.

I've even gone to their pig pen and loudly expressed my concern as a
law abiding citizen, that people were being treated unfairly.

Bob

> --- In aum@yahoogroups.com, Wilbur Streett < deletia > wrote:
> > Quite honestly, I am surprised that we don't see more of this.
I
> not only
> > support him, but applaud his efforts.
> >
> > Eric

NCMEC - Lowell and Alec Jaks

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

For the original NCMEC posters, go here for Alec Jaks, here for Lowell Jaks, and here for both.

Family Abduction

ALEC JAKS DOB:  Jun 21, 1993 Missing:  Jan 27, 2004 Age Now:  10 Sex:  Male Race:  White Hair:  Brown Eyes:  Brown Height:  5'1" (155 cm) Weight:  115 lbs (52 kg) Missing From: RIDGECREST CA United States

LOWELL JAKS Abductor DOB:  Aug 13, 1951 Sex:  Male Race:  White Hair:  Sandy Eyes:  Blue Height:  5'10" (178 cm) Weight:  200 lbs (91 kg)

Alec was abducted by his non-custodial father, Lowell Anton Jaks. A felony warrant was issued for the abductor on January 30, 2004. They may have left the country and traveled to Mexico or the Dominican Republic. The abductor is missing one or two front teeth and may or may not have a beard.

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

---

Kern County District Attorney's Office (California) 1-661-858-2340

Fathers' Rights Activist Kidnapped His Son

Update - March 4, 2004: Alec Jaks has been found in the Dominican Republic and is back with his mother. Lowell Jaks is in custody and will shortly be extradited to California.

-----

Lowell Jaks, founder of the Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights (ANCPR), which is a particularly nasty fathers' rights group, has kidnapped his son.

I've had a recent run-in with Jaks. On January 6, he sent me an e-mail with a link and copy of an article about a New York judge who had "resigned after he was accused of saying most women enjoy abuse and ask to get "smacked around" and that domestic violence cases are a waste of the court's time." Jaks is of the opinion that women are just as if not more abusive than men, a common father's rights complaint that is frequently held by batterers.

He addressed his subject line to me, personally. It said "Thought you might get a "kick" out of this."

I replied in kind, saying "Sorry, someone else already "beat" you to the "punch." Saw it several hours before you sent it."

At the time I thought it surprising that he would have the cheek to write to me like that. I wondered what the hell provoked him. Lots of fathers' rights advocates read my blog and my web site. I sometimes get e-mail from them. More often, they tend to gnash their teeth on mailing lists and public message board forums. I've read some Trish-bashing in blog entries. A few fathers' rights advocates have created entire web pages and at least one web site devoted to trashing me.

In hindsight, it seems that Jaks been gearing up for some truly heinous behavior.

Fathers' rights activists have used Missing Child databases and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to their benefit to track down their own ex's who flee with the children to protect themselves from domestic violence and child abuse. I bet John Walsh didn't expect his databases to be used by abusers, but there you have it. Now we have a man, a leader in the fathers' rights movement, who chose to kidnap his son rather than pay the child support he owes.

Jaks's son is listed on the NCMEC database. I'll provide the entire contents plus a link in my next post.

Below is e-mail I have received from a colleague about the kidnapping. AUM is the father's rights mailing list American Union of Men. Wilbur Streett is another awful fathers' rights advocate who frequently posts to Usenet.

Would someone go to the links for ANCPR and AUM and please explain to me how these two groups are concerned with the welfare of children? I must be missing something. Fathers' rights groups always talk about how they only want children to have two parents and how moms and dads must work together for the sake of the child. I can't see any evidence of either line of thought in all the muck about false allegations of abuse, and women being more abusive than men, and children not being safe around mothers, and men being driven to suicide by the evil family court system and their greedy ex-bitches, and morons who dress up like Spider-Man to protest fathers' allegedly being stripped of their rights, and ranting about feminists, and more ranting about their ex-wives and girlfriends, and on, and on, and on, ad infinitum....

If anyone reading this post and the next one see either Lowell Jaks or his son, Alec, please call 911.

Wed Feb 4, 2004 3:16 am Subject: parents rights advocate suspected of abducting his own son From Wilbur Streett / fwd via [AUM] (02-02) 07:57 PST RIDGECREST, Calif. (AP) -- A parents rights advocate is wanted by police, suspected of abducting his own son, officers said. Lowell Anton Jaks, 52, has a $100,000 felony warrant out for his arrest after Alec Norman Jaks disappeared last Tuesday morning on his way to Pierce Elementary School. Elaine Jackson, Lowell Jaks' ex-wife and the child's mother, had asked for a protective order on Jan. 21, when she first started suspecting her husband intended to take her child away. Her suspicions began three weeks ago, when she drove with her son past a passport photos store and the 10-year-old told her he'd applied for a passport there with his dad. A week later, Jaks placed ads in the local paper seeking to sell most of his belongings, and got rid of his dogs, Jackson said. She still allowed her son to ride to school on his bike, but when he didn't come home at the end of the day, she called the school, and found out he'd never arrived. "I immediately called the police," Jackson said. Police in Chino, 112 miles from Ridgecrest, on Saturday found a silver-gray pickup that Lowell Jaks rented from the Ridgecrest Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Jackson is afraid Jaks, who speaks some Spanish, took their son out of the country. Jaks founded the nonprofit Alliance for Non-Custodial Parents Rights in 1994, soon after his marriage to Jackson, because he had been married before and did not want to pay child support for his daughter. The organization's Web site gives tips on how to avoid paying child support. A 2002 Associated Press article about violence among divorced fathers quotes Jaks, the president of the organization, as saying: "None of these guys are poster children. But when you cause this much pain to so many men, there are going to be repercussions. A certain percentage are going to crack." ++++ALSO++++ Boy Allegedly Abducted By Father School Failed To Notify Mother Of Child's Absence POSTED: 10:15 p.m. PST February 2, 2004 UPDATED: 10:26 p.m. PST February 2, 2004 RIDGECREST, Calif. -- A Ridgecrest's woman's 10-year-old son, Alec, is missing, and authorities fear the boy's father has abducted the child and taken him out of the country. "I said goodbye. I gave him a kiss -- we kiss each other goodbye every morning before school," said mother Elaine Jackson. "He rode off down the road." Jackson says when Alec left for school on Tuesday morning, he took his bicycle and his usual route through the desert to school. He never arrived, and the elementary school didn't call to let her know. "He normally comes home at 3:30 p.m., and I didn't know until about 3:40 that something was wrong," Jackson said. Because her ex-husband Lowell Jaks had been telling people he and his son were moving out of the country, Elaine knew her worst nightmare had come true -- her son had been abducted by his father. Jackson gained full custody of her son because of the father's threats to flee the country. Investigator Charles Brown said they believe the two have left the United States. "He sold his things and told people that he and his son were leaving," Brown said. No Amber Alert was issued in this case, even though it was clear to the authorities that Jaks planned to take his son out of the country. "We asked repeatedly (for it), but they just decided it didn't meet the criteria," Jackson said. Jackson must now face the reality that she may not be able to see or hear from Alec for an indeterminate amount of time. If you have any information about the disappearance of Alec Jaks and his father Lowell Jaks, call 911.