Boston Parent Still Fighting to See His Children After Biased Court Decision

Protest Action by Mr. Andrew Steele, Boston

This are of the web site is about Mr. Andrew Steele. A Boston parent who lost any real contact with his four sons after a Divorce and wanted to make a peaceful statement about the violation of basic rights that occurred. I was able to speak to a good friend of his, Ms. Mandy Varona mandyvarona@yahoo.com who lives in Seattle and is familiar with Andrew and his history. I came away very impressed by his motivation and methods. This was a preplanned and thoughtful action his part. I encourage anyone, especially those in the Boston area, to contact Andrew & Ms. Varona.

December 10th, 2009: (Human Rights Day) The initial news report was:

"An unhappy parent was caught red-handed tagging a courthouse after being denied a holiday visit with his sons. Andrew Steele, 45, of Tacoma, Wash. used three cans of spray paint to write "Steele boys rights denied" in large letters on the Brockton District Court in Boston, Mass.... TheBostonChannel.Com & PatriotLedger.Com

Ms. Varona explained that Andrew had not planned to use regular spray paint! He was going to purchase cans "easy remove" paint -- the same type that is used to spray "Just Married" on cars.

He also prepared a two page "Purpose of Protest Statement" before his action -- which he knew was Human Right's Day, the start of Human Rights week. An excerpt from that statement:

PURPOSE OF PROTEST:

• My son rights have been and continue to be denied them.
• My rights have been and continue to be denied me.
• My children's mother's life has been made very difficult.
• Some family members have been and continue to be harmed.

FACT: Children need to feel special in Mom's life and Dad's. When they have this they do alright. When they are denied this they are at greater risk of having troubles. (click here to read complete statement)

CURRENT STATUS/CONTACT INFO:

"Mr. Steele was arraigned in Brockton, MA, court on charges of tagging, destruction over $250 and malicious damage. Steele was ordered held in lieu of $50,000 cash bail or $500,000 surety. He will return to court on Jan. 6." -- from TheBostonChannel.Com

I was told he does not plan on making bail and wishes to continue his protest as a prisoner. We encourage everyone to write him at:

Andrew Steele, #53441
Plymouth House of Corrections
Housing Unit BS1
26 Long Pond Rd.
Plymouth, MA 02360

He has a good friend, Ms. Mandy Varona. She is trying to help Andrew get as much publicity as possible. She is very familiar with his family background and struggles. She can be contacted at: Ms. Mandy Varona mandyvarona@yahoo.com , phone: (206) 313-9888

BACKGROUND:

For many years Andrew worked in construction. He married and the couple had four sons (who now range in age from 8-13). In his 40s he realized he would not be able to work construction for long and wanted to make a career change and become a Children's Book writer. He wrote and published one book (Amazon link below). His wife was not happy with this career change and sought divorce.

The divorce began in 2006 and almost immediately the Judge ordered "supervised visits" and Andrew could only see his four sons every other weekend, from 10am - 5pm, in a visit supervised by someone acceptable to his wife. There had been no type of threatening conduct on his part.

The divorce decree was issued in Nov of 2009 and no change was made to the visitation schedule or procedure. There was NO extra time for any vacations or holidays. Andrew had hoped for a return to more normal contact with his children -- this triggered his plan of action. (Click here for decree - NOTE: Andrew challenges the veracity of the some of the reported "Facts" listed. These documents are usually character assassination of the 'losing' party, but Andrew wanted to be completely upfront in the matter).