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Teenager Will Stay In Florida For Now As Clarifications Are Sought

By Howard M. Friedman

A court in Orlando, Florida yesterday held another hearing in the case of Rifqa Bary, the 17-year old who fled her Muslim parents' home in Ohio and came to Florida claiming that she feared her father would kill her because she had converted to Christianity. (See prior posting.) WBNS TV 10 reports Circuit judge Daniel Dawson ordered that for now Rifqa will remain in Florida, but that she may have no contact with Pastor Blake Lorenz's family with whom she had been staying. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Dawson will confer with a judge in Ohio to determine if a legitimate dependency action has been filed. Rifqa's guardian ad litem is concerned that the petition filed in Ohio is merely a ploy, and the case will be dropped once Rifqa is returned.

According to Central Florida News 13, a report by the Florida Department of law Enforcement found a number of misrepresentations in Rifqa Bary's story. She did not hitch hike to the Greyhound bus station to flee, but instead she was driven to the bus station by the man who baptized her in Ohio. Her bus ticket was actually purchased in Orlando under a false name. Currently four different attorneys claim to be representing Rifqa. The Florida Department of Children and Families has filed a motion asking the court to determine who should be recognized as her attorney.

UPDATE: WBNS TV10 reported on Tuesday that Pastor Blake Lorenz and his family are under criminal investigation for possibly helping Bary flee from Ohio.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 22, 2009 (boomark / email).