NAPOLEON, Ohio - The father of a 6-year-old American girl taken from her mother's apartment in Russia did not kidnap her because he already had been granted custody, the man's attorney said.

        The girl is at the center of a custody dispute between her American father and her mother, a woman from Russia who is a U.S. citizen.

        Patrick Garmyn, of Archbold in northwest Ohio, turned his daughter, Amelia, over to authorities July 26 after he brought her back to the United States. The girl now is in foster care.

        Lolita Garmyn said July 19, at least three men entered her Moscow apartment and took the girl on instructions from the girl's father.

        She said she had been granted custody of Amelia when she and her husband divorced in 2001.

        Mr. Garmyn's attorney Gregory VanGunten said there was a stipulation that she remain in the continental United States.

        “When Lolita left, Patrick was given custody,” he said.

        “You cannot kidnap a child that is in your custody,” he said.

        The custody case is awaiting a hearing in Henry County Common Pleas Court.

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