The agreement between Rifqa Bary and her parents to settle their conflict through counseling has ended without a single meeting between the parents and their daughter, according to a motion filed in Franklin County Juvenile Court.
The parents - Mohamed and Aysha Bary - are withdrawing their consent to resolve the case. Rifqa and her parents agreed on Jan. 19 that she would stay in foster care and they would undergo counseling instead of beginning a dependency trial to determine where the 17-year-old should live.
She turns 18 on Aug. 10.
The motion says: “The parents now believe the entire deal should be thrown out because of misrepresentation and fraudulent inducement.” It adds that the Barys now object to all decisions made on Jan. 19 and want a trial on the dependency case.
Rifqa ran away in July, saying her father abused her and threatened to kill her for converting from Islam to Christianity. Authorities could not find any credible threats to her safety.
Franklin County Children Services promised it would protect Rifqa from the people who helped her run away and are trying to exploit her, but she’s allowed to talk to Blake and Beverly Lorenz, according to the motion filed yesterday by Omar Tarazi, attorney for the parents.
The Lorenzes are the Florida pastor couple who housed Rifqa for more than two weeks after she ran away.
The motion says she is being allowed to attend “the very church that targeted her in the first place,” but it does not name the church.
Tarazi also wrote that Angela Lloyd, an attorney for Rifqa, knew or should have known of the contents of a “happy birthday, Daddy” card that she sent to Blake Lorenz on behalf of Rifqa. He said Lloyd undermined the wishes of Children Services, whose officials decided Rifqa should not send the card.
Later, all parties agreed Rifqa would not have contact with the Lorenzes.
The motion says Rifqa has yet to talk to her parents.
Two separate motions ask the court to remove Lloyd as Rifqa’s counsel and Bonnie Vangeloff as her guardian ad litem.
Tarazi also filed an emergency motion that all contact between Rifqa and those who “assisted in her unruly behavior” be prohibited because of a pending criminal investigation.
A spokeswoman for Florida Department of Law Enforcement said the Lorenzes are under investigation concerning the circumstances of Rifqa living with them.
The Lorenzes also have filed complaints. One, with the U.S. Postal Service, accuses a former official at their church of opening the birthday card and sending it to Tarazi. A second complaint filed with Orlando police said church leaders recorded them without their permission at a meeting regarding Rifqa.
All parties are under a gag order and cannot comment on the case.