A man charged with abducting his autistic four-year-old daughter and taking her to Indonesia was released on bail Tuesday.
Brent Leonard Erskine was arrested by Victoria police on Monday after returning to Canada. He appeared in the Provincial Court of British Columbia Tuesday afternoon where Judge Lisa Mrozinski set Erskine’s bail at $5,000.
Erskine is charged with one count of abduction in contravention of a custody order and one count of disobeying a court order.
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On Aug. 1, the Victoria Police Department held a press conference with Agustine Wulandari, the child’s mother, who pleaded for information from the public for information on Erskine’s whereabouts.
On June 30, Erskine allegedly took their daughter, Samantha, for vacation time based on an agreement with Wulandari. The couple is separated and Wulandari has sole custody of Samantha. Erskine was allowed a one-week vacation to Vancouver but after communications changed between the parents Wulandari became worried.
On July 8, the police were called and an investigation with the major crimes unit was launched. Investigators discovered Samantha was in Indonesia with her maternal grandparents and that Erskine was last known to be in Singapore to obtain a visa. Although she was with family, Wulandari was worried Erskine would return and retrieve Samantha from her parents.
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The @vicpdcanada are looking for Brent Erskine for the abduction of his four-year-old daughter, Samantha. He took her to Indonesia and was last seen in Singapore. Samantha’s mother is worried for her daughter’s well-being because she has autism. #yyj pic.twitter.com/BY7INOpflP
— Nicole Crescenzi (@NicoleCrescenzi) August 1, 2019
Crown counsel approved criminal charges against Erskine on July 24.
VicPD is working on getting Samantha home and noted more information will be released in the coming days.
Global Affairs Canada said they were aware of the case and that Canadian consular officials were in contact with the child’s family in Canada to provide consular assistance in an emailed statement, adding that consular officials in Jakarta, Indonesia were in contact with local authorities to gather additional information.
Erskine’s next court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 4.
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