HELP Morris a Scottish man wrongly incarcerated in a Mexican Prison and reunite his 2 sons
The Issue
*THE CAUSE*
We need the Scottish/British government and Mexican Government to listen.
Help me rescue and reunite with my children.
My name is Morris Roy Lester, I am 56 years old, from west of Glasgow, Scotland and I am currently being unjustly held in a high-security prison in Mexico. I have spent over 1080 days incarcerated for a crime I did not commit, a crime that never happened, a crime made up by my ex-wife. And the most heartbreaking part is that I've been completely cut off from my two sons, aged 10 and 15, ever since the day I was arrested.
This is our story — and my plea for help.
Three and a half years ago, I made the painful decision to end my 15-year marriage to protect myself and my children from escalating verbal, psychological, and physical abuse at the hands of my ex-wife. After the separation and divorce, she filed multiple false allegations against me. All of them were dismissed. A judge even warned her not to make any further false accusations.
Despite being granted emergency custody of my sons by a family judge, my ex-wife fled with them. An Amber Alert was issued, and with the help of federal police and a judge, the children were finally located — after a dangerous high-speed chase through Mexico City with them in the backseat.
After being separated for 15 months, finally we were reunited, and it seemed that the alienation nightmare was over.
It took them just seconds to reconnect, spending two wonderful months together, laughing, playing, making plans for our future together. The love between us has always prevailed and survived all attempts of destroying it with manipulation, lies, false memories...with Parental Alienation.
It was heart-breaking hearing from them what they had been through those 15 months, the physical assaults, the daily emotional and psychological attacks, being told that they would be given away to two different foster families and never see each other again if they spoke to me or said that they love me.
It was extremely urgent to start psychological therapy to help them to recover their emotional and mental health. For two months, we were doing the necessary to heal our wounds and extremely happy recovering our lives.
But the horror was not over. In another state, she filed a new false accusation — this time, of attempted murder, allegedly committed nearly three months before she reported it.
I was never notified of the investigation, never questioned, and continued living in our family home, visiting the Family Department every week, going to family court fighting for my sons' custody and criminal courts against previous false accusations, never hiding. The Justice Department knew where I was at all times.
It took them 6 months to investigate - starting a couple of days after I took physical custody of my sons. My ex-wife has made a false accusation against the judge that awarded me the emergency change of custody and my then custody lawyer.
Five of the seven false allegations were made by the same law firm who are believed to have taken over £1 million GBP in fees for themselves and their 'consultants' in the Justice Department and Family Department.
Then, in front of my sons, I was arrested.
Since then, I have been imprisoned without bail and without the chance to defend myself properly.
Even though I still legally have custody, I haven't heard anything from or about my sons.
No calls, no pictures, no 'Happy Birthdays' or 'Merry Christmas'
No report about their health, wellbeing, or education.
They were taken again — in direct violation of restraining and psychiatric orders. There is an open investigation into child abduction against my ex-wife.
We are trying to raise money to force the fiscalía to investigate.
They were forced to be handed over to federal authorities again after a second Amber Alert.
Somehow, within a few days, the Mexico City Family Department handed them over to a distant family member of my ex-wife, without any psychological, criminal, or background checks. This person has no close relationship with my children. My ex-wife now has unsupervised weekend access.
6x false accusations.
1x emergency change of custody with help of federal police
2x Children removed from her custody by Family Courts and Child Protective Services.
2x Amber Alerts
15x lost appeals
8x different family courts in Mexico City
1x investigation into Child Abduction, breaking restraining orders and psychiatric orders
Our worst fear is happening, my kids are again in contact with their alienator; my ex-wife has unlimited access to them (although the sentence of change of custody initially negated her it) while my request for seeing them has been denied.
There's no day that my thoughts and prayers are not dedicated to them, hoping that they keep strong and safe.
The legal system has failed us. The family courts, custody departments, and even the foster system have ignored court orders. The fiscalía have broken Federal Laws by refusing to look for exculpatory evidence.
Now, I am being threatened with 46 years and 8 months in prison, and an outrageous financial demand for almost 3 million pesos — based on no evidence, only hearsay from people connected to my ex-wife.
*What we are asking for:*
*1. To the Fiscalía CDMX:* Reopen the Child Abduction investigation and investigate the breaking of restraining orders and psychiatric orders.
*2. To the Family Court:* Enforce the existing custody order and allow video contact while the criminal trial is pending, and put the whole family file in front of one competent court and judge to see all the evidence.
Why we need your help? Since my arrest, I have lost everything:
- My children
- My job and all sources of income
- My reputation
- Our savings
- Our home
Even my 89-year-old mother in Scotland has remortgaged her, ex local authority, house to cover legal expenses and support me in prison for a crime that not only I am innocent of but a crime that never happened.
But everything is gone. And the costs keep mounting Life in a Mexican prison is not cheap.
I am now urgently seeking funding to cover:
- Legal representation and defence for my upcoming criminal trial in Mexico City (no confirmed date)
- Ongoing custody and family court battles in Morelos and Mexico City, my ex-wife and her lawyers have used 8 different family courts in Mexico City.
- Force the Fiscalía to reopen the Child Abduction investigation.
- Daily living expenses in prison
The legal battle ahead is long and extremely costly. But I am not giving up — I'm fighting for my freedom in order to save my sons and have the chance to be a father again.
I am being helped by the following organisations and collectives:
TheChangeForChildrenInternational (UK)
Voice for Dads (Scotland)
Soy Papá no Criminal
(I'm a Father not a Criminal). (México)
Colectivo Nacional No Más Presos Inocentes
(No More Innocent Prisoners) (México)
Colectivo Nacional Infancia Sin Barreras
(Children Without Barriers)(México)
Please, if you can, donate. If you're unable to donate, sharing this message with your network could help us reach someone who can.
Every single contribution — no matter how small — makes a difference. Your support is not only helping me survive but also giving me hope 🙏🏼
This is not just a legal case — this is about family, justice and primarily the right of two children to grow up with a loving, present father and family.
Once I prove my innocence and recover my sons, and because these false accusations are becoming more normal in Mexico, and Scotland, my hope is to help other men and children in the future, to stop the destruction of families.
Thank you for reading, for caring, and for standing by us.
With hope,
Morris Roy Lester
Only 4% of men are awarded custody in Mexico. There are no records of any foreign father winning custody from a Mexican mother.
The Justice Department and the police in México refuse to help. In prison Morris has met a lot of men who have been blocked or have been tried to be blocked from seeing their children, parental alienation is becoming the new normal in Mexico.
Only 4% of men are awarded custody in Mexico. The Justice Department and the police in México refuse to help. $? In prison Morris has met a lot of men going who have been blocked or have been tried to be blocked from seem their children, parental alienation seems to be very common in Mexico.
902
The Issue
*THE CAUSE*
We need the Scottish/British government and Mexican Government to listen.
Help me rescue and reunite with my children.
My name is Morris Roy Lester, I am 56 years old, from west of Glasgow, Scotland and I am currently being unjustly held in a high-security prison in Mexico. I have spent over 1080 days incarcerated for a crime I did not commit, a crime that never happened, a crime made up by my ex-wife. And the most heartbreaking part is that I've been completely cut off from my two sons, aged 10 and 15, ever since the day I was arrested.
This is our story — and my plea for help.
Three and a half years ago, I made the painful decision to end my 15-year marriage to protect myself and my children from escalating verbal, psychological, and physical abuse at the hands of my ex-wife. After the separation and divorce, she filed multiple false allegations against me. All of them were dismissed. A judge even warned her not to make any further false accusations.
Despite being granted emergency custody of my sons by a family judge, my ex-wife fled with them. An Amber Alert was issued, and with the help of federal police and a judge, the children were finally located — after a dangerous high-speed chase through Mexico City with them in the backseat.
After being separated for 15 months, finally we were reunited, and it seemed that the alienation nightmare was over.
It took them just seconds to reconnect, spending two wonderful months together, laughing, playing, making plans for our future together. The love between us has always prevailed and survived all attempts of destroying it with manipulation, lies, false memories...with Parental Alienation.
It was heart-breaking hearing from them what they had been through those 15 months, the physical assaults, the daily emotional and psychological attacks, being told that they would be given away to two different foster families and never see each other again if they spoke to me or said that they love me.
It was extremely urgent to start psychological therapy to help them to recover their emotional and mental health. For two months, we were doing the necessary to heal our wounds and extremely happy recovering our lives.
But the horror was not over. In another state, she filed a new false accusation — this time, of attempted murder, allegedly committed nearly three months before she reported it.
I was never notified of the investigation, never questioned, and continued living in our family home, visiting the Family Department every week, going to family court fighting for my sons' custody and criminal courts against previous false accusations, never hiding. The Justice Department knew where I was at all times.
It took them 6 months to investigate - starting a couple of days after I took physical custody of my sons. My ex-wife has made a false accusation against the judge that awarded me the emergency change of custody and my then custody lawyer.
Five of the seven false allegations were made by the same law firm who are believed to have taken over £1 million GBP in fees for themselves and their 'consultants' in the Justice Department and Family Department.
Then, in front of my sons, I was arrested.
Since then, I have been imprisoned without bail and without the chance to defend myself properly.
Even though I still legally have custody, I haven't heard anything from or about my sons.
No calls, no pictures, no 'Happy Birthdays' or 'Merry Christmas'
No report about their health, wellbeing, or education.
They were taken again — in direct violation of restraining and psychiatric orders. There is an open investigation into child abduction against my ex-wife.
We are trying to raise money to force the fiscalía to investigate.
They were forced to be handed over to federal authorities again after a second Amber Alert.
Somehow, within a few days, the Mexico City Family Department handed them over to a distant family member of my ex-wife, without any psychological, criminal, or background checks. This person has no close relationship with my children. My ex-wife now has unsupervised weekend access.
6x false accusations.
1x emergency change of custody with help of federal police
2x Children removed from her custody by Family Courts and Child Protective Services.
2x Amber Alerts
15x lost appeals
8x different family courts in Mexico City
1x investigation into Child Abduction, breaking restraining orders and psychiatric orders
Our worst fear is happening, my kids are again in contact with their alienator; my ex-wife has unlimited access to them (although the sentence of change of custody initially negated her it) while my request for seeing them has been denied.
There's no day that my thoughts and prayers are not dedicated to them, hoping that they keep strong and safe.
The legal system has failed us. The family courts, custody departments, and even the foster system have ignored court orders. The fiscalía have broken Federal Laws by refusing to look for exculpatory evidence.
Now, I am being threatened with 46 years and 8 months in prison, and an outrageous financial demand for almost 3 million pesos — based on no evidence, only hearsay from people connected to my ex-wife.
*What we are asking for:*
*1. To the Fiscalía CDMX:* Reopen the Child Abduction investigation and investigate the breaking of restraining orders and psychiatric orders.
*2. To the Family Court:* Enforce the existing custody order and allow video contact while the criminal trial is pending, and put the whole family file in front of one competent court and judge to see all the evidence.
Why we need your help? Since my arrest, I have lost everything:
- My children
- My job and all sources of income
- My reputation
- Our savings
- Our home
Even my 89-year-old mother in Scotland has remortgaged her, ex local authority, house to cover legal expenses and support me in prison for a crime that not only I am innocent of but a crime that never happened.
But everything is gone. And the costs keep mounting Life in a Mexican prison is not cheap.
I am now urgently seeking funding to cover:
- Legal representation and defence for my upcoming criminal trial in Mexico City (no confirmed date)
- Ongoing custody and family court battles in Morelos and Mexico City, my ex-wife and her lawyers have used 8 different family courts in Mexico City.
- Force the Fiscalía to reopen the Child Abduction investigation.
- Daily living expenses in prison
The legal battle ahead is long and extremely costly. But I am not giving up — I'm fighting for my freedom in order to save my sons and have the chance to be a father again.
I am being helped by the following organisations and collectives:
TheChangeForChildrenInternational (UK)
Voice for Dads (Scotland)
Soy Papá no Criminal
(I'm a Father not a Criminal). (México)
Colectivo Nacional No Más Presos Inocentes
(No More Innocent Prisoners) (México)
Colectivo Nacional Infancia Sin Barreras
(Children Without Barriers)(México)
Please, if you can, donate. If you're unable to donate, sharing this message with your network could help us reach someone who can.
Every single contribution — no matter how small — makes a difference. Your support is not only helping me survive but also giving me hope 🙏🏼
This is not just a legal case — this is about family, justice and primarily the right of two children to grow up with a loving, present father and family.
Once I prove my innocence and recover my sons, and because these false accusations are becoming more normal in Mexico, and Scotland, my hope is to help other men and children in the future, to stop the destruction of families.
Thank you for reading, for caring, and for standing by us.
With hope,
Morris Roy Lester
Only 4% of men are awarded custody in Mexico. There are no records of any foreign father winning custody from a Mexican mother.
The Justice Department and the police in México refuse to help. In prison Morris has met a lot of men who have been blocked or have been tried to be blocked from seeing their children, parental alienation is becoming the new normal in Mexico.
Only 4% of men are awarded custody in Mexico. The Justice Department and the police in México refuse to help. $? In prison Morris has met a lot of men going who have been blocked or have been tried to be blocked from seem their children, parental alienation seems to be very common in Mexico.
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Petition created on 10 March 2024