Ont. man says child has been kidnapped, ‘held hostage’ by mother in Russia

A Cookstown, Ont. man is now seeking the government’s help alleging the mother of his child abducted his two-year-old daughter and took her to Russia.

A Cookstown, Ont. man who thought he had found love online and planned to marry the mother of his child is now seeking the government’s help alleging the w

oman abducted his two-year-old daughter and took her to Russia.

Mark Whittaker, 51, said he met Tegmina Agadzhanyan, 40, on a dating site called cupid.com and upon meeting the woman, Whittaker believed she was going to move to Canada where their daughter was born in 2023.

A year later, he said his former fiancée became homesick and told Whittaker she wanted to visit family in Russia. Within weeks, Agadzhanyan told Whittaker their relationship was over, and Whittaker has seen his daughter once despite making several trips to Russia.

“It’s like a hostage on a chain and she’s holding her like a ransom as collateral to get this child support. And it’s just, it’s unacceptable, it’s wrong, it’s criminal,” said Whittaker outside his home.

Whittaker said he could not believe he was deceived by a woman he thought loved him - a woman he had met online, fell in love, and had a child with, who then took their child from Cookstown to Russia and ghosted him.

“She stopped communicating, she wouldn’t answer calls, she’d hang up or declined calls. She wouldn’t respond to my text messages, so I started catching on in a few days and go ‘Wow I think she is like actually wanting to stay,’” he said.

Whittaker has been fighting to have his daughter returned home. South Simcoe Police announced this week an Ontario-wide warrant for Agadzhanyan more than a year after she left Canada. Police charged the 40-year-old woman with abduction in contravention of a custody or parenting order and disobeyed a court order.

“Because what she’s been doing for the past year is she’s kidnapping and her reason is, you know, to get the control of the child for herself and to get money, you know through there’s like lucrative 25% child support order,” Whittaker said.

An order he said his Agadzhanyan got in a Russian court for spousal and child support, after ending the relationship last August.

Whittaker said he visited with his daughter once for a few hours in March under strict conditions. And despite recently getting a Canadian court order to have his child return home, nothing has changed.

“I’ve been to Russia seven times,” said Whittaker. “I’ve spent over $300,000. I spoke to many lawyers and many lawyers in Russia, and they say there’s nothing you can do because in Russia.” He said lawyers told him parental abduction is not a crime, and the courts “heavily favor the mother” in custody disputes.

Whittaker said he wants his family back and is appealing for help to speak with Russian officials and end what he described as a year-long nightmare, blaming Tegmina’s brother and family for keeping his daughter from him.

“I love my family very much,” he said. “What you’re doing is wrong. It’s criminal and I don’t think, you know, you’re a criminal but you’re acting like one right now.”

The allegations against the accused have not been tested in court.

Whittaker is pleading with federal government officials to intervene in his case saying he will be returning to Russia next week for a hearing, hoping to bring his daughter home.