A Utah woman, identified as transgender, along with her partner, faces serious allegations of abducting her 10-year-old child and taking the child to Cuba, reportedly with the intention of undergoing gender reassignment surgery.

Authorities detained Rose Inessa-Ethington, aged 42, who is the child’s biological father, alongside her partner, Blue Inessa-Ethington. Their arrest followed their deportation from Cuba earlier this week.

According to federal prosecutors, the couple traveled to the Caribbean island with the 10-year-old and Blue’s three-year-old child, allegedly with plans to pressure the older child into gender transitioning.

The child, originally born male but currently identifying as female, is believed by concerned relatives to be influenced by Rose, as highlighted in an official statement.

Rose transitioned to female after the birth of the child, and she shares custody with the child’s biological mother, as noted by family sources.

Worries arose when the couple, residents of Cache County, Utah, failed to return from a planned camping trip to Canada on March 28. The child was not returned to her biological mother’s custody five days later, prompting further concern.

They had instead taken the children to Mexico City and then to Havana, and the child’s family called police after raising ‘significant concerns for the minor’s well-being.’ 

A search of their home then revealed ‘to-do lists’ to bring the 10-year-old to Cuba, including to ‘learn Spanish’, withdraw $10,000, obtain a tourist visa and ’empty’ their bank accounts, court records showed. 

Transgender Utah woman Rose Inessa-Ethington, 42, (center) and her partner Blue Inessa-Ethington (right) are accused of kidnapping her 10-year-old child and taking them to Cuba to allegedly get gender reassignment surgery for the minor 

Rose, the 10-year-old’s biological father, allegedly ‘manipulated’ her son into transitioning into a girl, and was accused of kidnapping the child to force it into surgery in Cuba 

In a press release announcing the couple’s arrest, prosecutors said family members had long held fears that the child was going to be forced into ‘gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty.’ 

On April 13, a Utah court ordered the 10-year-old be returned to the child’s biological mother immediately, and granted her exclusive custody of the child. 

The group were located in Cuba three days later, and were deported before being arrested upon their arrival back in the US. 

The couple appeared in court on Monday in Richmond, Virginia, and are set to be transported to Utah for the remainder of their court proceedings, officials said. 

Both Rose and Blue are charged in a federal criminal complaint of International Parental Kidnapping.

A GoFundMe set up by Blue in 2021 sheds some light on the family’s struggles with Rose’s transition, noting that her child’s biological mother had custody at the time. 

The fundraiser said Rose was raising the child ‘gender open’, meaning she did not believe the child had a gender. 

Rose shares custody with the child’s biological mother, and transitioned to female after the child was born a decade ago, family members said

In a fundraiser set up in 2021, Blue (left) said Rose (right) was raising the child ‘gender open’. This week prosecutors said family members had long held fears that the child was going to be forced into ‘gender reassignment surgery prior to puberty’

Both Rose and Blue are charged in a federal criminal complaint of International Parental Kidnapping after allegedly taking the 10-year-old, as well as Blue’s three-year-old child, to Cuba for gender reassignment surgeries 

‘Anyone who has spent time with Rose and [her son] sees how much care and thought she puts into parenting her gender open child,’ Blue wrote in the fundraiser.

‘[Her son] does exceptionally well for their age because of how Rose is raising them. Rose helps find safe and inclusive medical providers and schools for the child in addition to organizing appointments, buying clothes, and ensuring good nutrition. 

‘She even trains providers and teachers to make sure [her son] has the best chances of not being discriminated against.’ 

The fundraiser added that Rose was known as a ‘cornerstone of the LGBTQ+ community’ in Utah, and often organized marches and protests, taught ‘diversity training’ and lobbied lawmakers.