Weymouth, MA Father Jailed Over Bitter McLean County, Illinois Custody Battle
A Weymouth man embroiled in a bitter custody dispute over his four-year old son surrendered Tuesday to begin serving a six-month sentence in the McLean county jail for refusing to attend multiple court hearings in the child’s home state of Illinois.
Michael Cadena was handed down a six-month sentence for criminal contempt after he fled the state of Illinois with his son, “Mikey”, and refused to attend six separate scheduled court hearings.
The custody case, initially filed in 2014 by Michael in an effort to take custody from the child’s mother, Amber Buck, created a firestorm on the internet last year as he and his supporters published multiple unsubstantiated allegations of child abuse and details of the court case across social media.
The father’s social media campaign resulted in an influx of threatening communications level at now-retired McLean County Judge Leanne Hill, and garnered financial support upwards of a hundred-thousand dollars plus through crowdfunding campaigns which to date remain active, purportedly for the child’s medical expenses, and legal fees, despite custody being awarded to Buck in July 2018.
Cadena served 14 days in a Massachusetts jail last year in connection with an arrest warrant issued related to the criminal contempt charges. He was released after Buck went to Massachusetts in October and brought her son back to Illinois, several months after custody was awarded.
Currently presiding Judge Charles Feeney denied a request from Cadena’s lawyer Adele Saaf on Tuesday to vacate the jail term. Cadena will receive day-for-day credit on his six months and credit for the 14 days he served in the Massachusetts jail.
Court records show that Cadena returned to Illinois last week and was granted two supervised visits with his son. Despite orders from the Judge during a December hearing barring both parties from posting details of the case and videos of the minor child on social media, Cadena was seen posting video footage of his first face to face visit with the child in six months on Facebook, in a video containing a photo slide show of the child’s alleged injuries from the unsubstantiated abuse set to the soundtrack “You Are So Beautiful” by Joe Cocker.
He and his supporters have continued to make allegations of abuse and purported court corruption in McLean county until the day of his surrender to the courts, despite the Judge’s order.
Court records reflect a request for a protective order made by Ms. Buck’s attorney, Tristan Bullington, was granted.
You can read my full, no-filter, typically savage thoughts on the matter here, on Turtleboy Sports.
