NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A judge in Franklin has awarded a man $6.1 million from his ex-wife who took their two children to Japan and never returned.
It remains unclear whether Christopher Savoie will ever actually get the money in behalf of his children, 10-year-old Isaac and 8-year-old Rebecca.
His ex-wife, Noriko Esaki Savoie, who is Japanese, left with the children for Japan in 2009. After that, a Tennessee court issued a warrant for her arrest and gave the father full custody, dropping a partial custody provision. But the order had no effect because Japan hasn't signed an international treaty governing child abduction.
Christopher Savoie, now 40, tried unsuccessfully to get the children when he made a trip to Japan after his ex-wife and children left.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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