"60 Minutes" Mum Hoping Husband Will Drop Charges In Exchange For Custody

The Aussie mother at the center of a child-recovery controversy is willing to renounce custody of her two kids.

According to ABC News, Brisbane mum Sally Faulkner is pleading with her estranged husband Ali el-Amien to drop abduction charges against her, following a foiled plot to take back her two children, Noah and Lahela, in Lebanon.

She was assisted in the endeavour by four crewmembers from 60 Minutes, including reporter Tara Brown, and a professional child recovery team. It ended with their arrest.

The lot of them are now being detained in Lebanon with charges that include kidnapping and physical assault hanging over their head. They face a maximum sentence of 20 years if they are found guilty.

However, the judge presiding over the case has encouraged the family to resolve the custody issue among themselves.

If el-Amien drops the charges, Faulkner will give up the sole custody that was initially granted to her by the Family Court in Australia (a ruling that would have allowed Faulkner to recover her children lawfully, had she registered it in Lebanon).

Then, she would likely be released on bail and see the severity of her – and her collaborators’ - charges downgraded.

However, it will mean her children will remain in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, amidst a heaping of criticism, Channel 9 is now facing claims that the operation was paid for, indirectly, by 60 Minutes, with Faulkner’s $115,000 payment to the child recovery team allegedly provided by the news program.

The claim comes from Lebanese authorities, but ABC News notes that the statement is uncorroborated at this time.

More news as it develops.

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