“She has no legal custody to the children, no legal basis for keeping the children. This was made clear to her.”
A Houston woman who is accused of kidnapping five children she had been caring for since Hurricane Katrina is in custody in Houston, law enforcement officials say.
Rhonda Tavey was taken into custody peacefully at a Houston home believed to belong to her mother. The children, who were with her at the time, will probably be taken into custody by state Child Protective Services, an official said. The Harris County district attorney’s office has custody of Ms. Tavey, who is charged with five counts of felony kidnapping.
Ms. Tavey fled her home in Houston in July and took with her the five young children she has been taking care of for the last three years, since they were displaced by Hurricane Katrina. An Amber Alert for the children is still in effect, after a complaint filed by their mom, Erica Alphonse, who has been living between Houston and New Orleans since the storm. She was believed to be in the Dallas area for a while Wednesday and Thursday.
Ms. Tavey maintains that she fled her home because Ms. Alphonse had threatened her and was abusing the children, and only wanted them back so that she could get public assistance money.
The situation:
http://www.khou.com/news/state/stories/khou080806_mh_amber_alert_katrina.1f1adeed.html
The Mother:
http://www.khou.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=270652&shu=1
The Caretaker: