Two grandfathers sat inside a Newmarket courtroom on Thursday: one pronounced guilty for his role in the 2009 abduction of his two grandsons, the other watching in silence.

Justice Joseph Kenkel dismissed Tadeusz (Ted) Ustaszewski’s version of events as “not truthful,” finding him guilty of aiding in the removal of his grandsons from Canada by their mother in March 2009.

Looking on were the boys’ paternal grandfather, Reg Watkins, and their father, Stephen Watkins.

The two sides did not speak to each other, but were united on one thing: They all felt like losers.

“No one is winning,” Stephen Watkins said of the long battle over the boys, now in Poland.

Tadeusz Ustaszewski silently walked out of the courthouse after the verdict. His lawyer was very disappointed. He said his client was distraught.

Reached at her home in Warsaw, where she has been living openly with her children since 2011, Edyta Ustaszewski said she was shocked, disappointed and saddened by her father’s conviction.

“It shouldn’t have happened this way,” said Ustaszewski, who is still on the RCMP’s “wanted” page for child abductions. “My father is 77; he doesn’t deserve what he’s getting.”

The union of Stephen Watkins and Edyta Ustaszewski produced two children and much acrimony. After their initial separation in 2004, they were awarded joint custody, but the relationship was toxic and heavily litigated, producing a large court file with numerous allegations by each parent against the other.

In a final court order in January 2009, Watkins was granted custody, while his ex-wife was granted access every second weekend.

“I would suggest that rather than funding further litigation, the families assist the parents in paying for a parenting coordinator to help these people problem-solve,” Justice Geraldine Waldman wrote at the time. “These children desperately need this conflict to end. I urge the parents to act appropriately.”

The conflict didn’t end. It reached international proportions.

The court heard that on March 8, 2009, Tadeusz Ustaszewski drove his daughter and her two sons to the United States.

His version of events was that the trip was a spontaneous venture to Niagara Falls to cheer up the children, because Stephen Watkins had allegedly squeezed Alexander’s throat. When the family crossed the border, one of the boys had to go to the bathroom, so they pulled into a Tim Hortons. By a remarkable coincidence, Edyta’s friends were inside, and she decided to stay for four days with the boys. Ustaszewski returned home alone, believing he would see the trio in a few days.

Justice Joseph Kenkel ruled that this scenario “could not be truthful.” He questioned the spontaneity and noted that Edyta had purchased plane tickets to Germany several days before they left Canada, using a joint Visa account that belonged to her and her father. Kenkel noted that their allegations of abuse by Stephen Watkins were not credible.

The court heard that Ustaszewski spent four hours in the U.S., “none of which was explained,” Kenkel said, adding that the only reasonable explanation was that he drove them to an airport.

He noted that Ustaszewski was very familiar with the ongoing legal issues because in his witness statements he expressed “frustration with the final order and the history of the proceedings.”

Kenkel ruled that “he aided her, knowing it would deprive him (Stephen Watkins) of custody in contravention of a court order.”

“If you’re going to assist in a child abduction, if you’re family or a friend, and you’re caught, you’re going to face penalties,” Stephen Watkins said after the verdict.

“That’s very important,” his father chimed in.

Sentencing will be held in October. Ustaszewski’s passport is with the police and under his bail conditions he is not allowed to leave Ontario.

Edyta Ustaszewski and her sons were found in Poland last summer. In December, the Polish court ruled against the boys’ return to Canada, saying they had already adapted to their lives in Poland. Watkins’ appeal in May was dismissed. Both times, Watkins was able to see his sons. They called him by his first name.

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A photo from the May meeting shows the fractured family reunited on the church steps where Alexander was celebrating his First Communion. Neither Watkins nor Ustaszewski is smiling.

Reached at her home in Warsaw before the verdict, Edyta Ustaszewski said the abduction was her “only way out,” and she has no regrets.

“Since the day I removed them they have been nothing but happy,” she said.

She called her father an innocent man.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” she said. “Yes, he did drive across the border, but he did not know why he drove me across the border. He did not know my intentions; he was unaware of them … he’s on heart medication, blood pressure medication, this is the last thing the man needs.”

Poland doesn’t have an extradition treaty with Canada, but the country is a party to The Hague Convention, which is meant to expedite the process of returning abducted children.

Watkins is waiting to determine whether his appeals process is exhausted in Poland before he takes the matter to the European Union court. Watkins says Canadian politicians are not taking his case seriously.

“We know there are four major treaties broken between Canada and Poland. No one has stood up and said anything about that,” he said.

Much is being said about other matters. Watkins shows his phone screen outside of court, with a page of text messages from his ex-wife.

One of the most recent: “Leave my daddy alone.”

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