Caren MacDonald reportedly lied to court officials when she told them that her son had been “touched,” in order to win custody of her then 12-year-old son. This case is coming to trial finally, after a five-year wait. The case is expected to raise issues about gay parenting, as it is her ex husbands ex boyfriend whom Caren MacDonald claimed had inappropriately touched her son.

After losing custody of her son in 2001, Caren MacDonald unexpectedly took her son out of private school one day, and then fled on a plane to Costa Rica with her son for nine months of life on the run.

Caren MacDonald was arrested by U.S. Customs agents in June of 2002 after getting off of a plan in Houston. She is facing a third degree felony charge of interfering with custody, and a misdemeanor of violating a restraining order. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison and up to $5,000 in fines.

The child involved, who is now 16, is currently residing in his Colorado home with his father. As if a child of divorce doesn’t have enough to deal with, this poor boy has been through a divorce, custody change, a father ‘coming out’, false allegations of sexual abuse against his fathers ex lover, being kidnapped, watching his mother get arrested, going back to live with his father, and now watching his mother on trial.

This must be a very strong boy to be able to have so much on his little plate in life, and still be around to tell the story. He has had so many challenges to face already, and yet it hasn’t gotten him down and out yet! While it is horrible to hear what this poor child has had to endure for the past several years of his life, hopefully the end of this trial will be able to bring closure to both the boy, as well as his father, and they will be able to move forward from that point, and not look back and agonize over the pain that they had to endure for such a long time.