Judge Rebecca Connolly

Many people have asked for updates on the case of Maya and Sebastian Laing — other than what appears to be continued collusion in the Santa Cruz County family court system, there haven't been updates. Sadly, this is par for the course when children are sent into reunification camps. It has been over 100 days since these children have seen their father, paternal family, friends, teachers, and classmates.

My daughter and I attended the January 20, 2023 hearing and protest at the Watsonville courthouse in Santa Cruz County, California. What should have been the 90-day review hearing and the end of the three-month blackout period, ended up being predictable delays. Judge Rebecca Connolly's presentation during the hearing was awkward, bizarre and unprofessional at best. As she has done in previous hearings, Judge Connolly continued to reference her personal feelings that this should be a “private matter.” While we understand why it would be in Judge Connolly's best interest for this to be a private matter, this is a matter of public interest.

On February 6, attorney Gregory Gillett (father’s counsel) filed a 170.01 request to disqualify Judge Rebecca Connolly. During the hearing on February 7, 2023, Judge Connolly continued the case out even further. The next hearing is not until April which will mark six-months since the children were taken.

Professionals who work in the alienation industry promote four-day camps designed to repair fractured relationships or bonds between the child and the rejected parent but these camps are just the start of what was recently described as "designer human trafficking.” Anyone who has survived a reunification camp will tell you that the four-day camp is just the beginning of this nightmare. The next phase of this involves a 90-day blackout period but it is never “just” 90-days as many are learning by watching this case unfold. The preferred parent or, the safe parent, discovers delay after delay and they are expected to jump through hoops that are nonexistent or, continuously moved just beyond their reach.

When the video of the children being violently assaulted on October 20, 2022 (by transport agents from Assisted Interventions, Inc.) went viral, it provided a window into the horrors of the reunification camp industry. It is estimated that the video has been viewed over 30 million times by people all around the world who express outrage that this could be happening in America. Sadly, this is not an isolated situation and it could be described as a crisis. The origins of reunification camps are as disturbing as the video of Maya and Sebastian Laing being taken against their will to a reunification camp owned by Los Angeles therapist, Lynn Steinberg.

During recent testimony in front of the Montana Senate Judiciary Committee, a young man by the name of Paul Johnson described his family’s experience with Family Bridges reunification camp and stated, "Once this magical legal strategy called, ‘parental alienation’ came along, the whole history of abuse was no longer taken into consideration.” Paul Johnson's younger sisters were taken to Family Bridges reunification camp four years ago and to this day, they have not returned home to their mother despite the father having multiple felony convictions of domestic violence and, a lifetime restraining order against him.

In Los Angeles, Brody Dalle is living a similar nightmare as her three children were sent into Family Bridges reunification camp over 10 months ago and have not been returned to her home. Ms. Dalle also had an active restraining order against her ex-husband and there were findings of domestic violence during their dissolution of marriage. Her ex-husband retains full custody of the children to this day.

These cases are all tied together, and pulling the string on one unravels the horrors of all. Randy Rand and Richard Warshak of Family Bridges could be considered the godfathers of this disturbing but lucrative industry. Linda Gottlieb and Loretta Maase of Turning Points, studied under Rand and then Lynn Steinberg, from the Laing case in Santa Cruz County, testified that she studied under Gottlieb, and Rand’s associates. This industry is dark and incestuous.

We continue to demand justice for all of these children, including the two children in Utah who are currently barricaded in their bedroom, in fear for their lives. They have been threatened with Linda Gottlieb’s reunification camp and, their father who has substantiated DCSF findings of, “severe and chronic” abuse was given full custody.

Below is the recent filing, Mr. Laing's request to disqualify Judge Rebecca Connolly pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 170.1(a)(6):