By Janet Fife-Yeomans The Daily Telegraph April 14, 2009

LOS Angeles detectives have told George Betsis he will be arrested and faces jail when he hands son Tomas back to the boy's mum, celebrity "baby listener" Priscilla Dunstan.

But the Sydney advertising executive, who has been on the run after he was accused of abducting his son from a school in Los Angeles 10 days ago, said yesterday it was worth it.

"I came over here to see my son. It's not like it was an illegal act to see him but it escalated," Mr Betsis, 49, told The Daily Telegraph from a secret location in California.

This photograph, taken at the weekend, shows Tomas, 10, and his father in the apartment where they have been hiding, spending a lot of time indoors since the LA Police Department issued a child abduction alert on April 3.

They have worked their way through Tomas' latest love - the entire series of Star War movies - and played Scrabble.

In between, Tomas has been talking over the internet to his step-mother, actress Mary Coustas, and the rest of his family and friends in Australia, who he has not seen since moving to the US with Ms Dunstan seven months ago.

"I'm cooking breakfast for him and I cook lunch and dinner, things we have missed doing together," Mr Betsis said yesterday.

"We are just catching up."

He has been in touch with the FBI and the LAPD to let them know he and Tomas are safe.

"The detective told me that it's likely I will be arrested then, unless we get caught beforehand. I said I understood," he said.

"I'm a rational adult choosing to take care of my son and I will deal with the consequences. My objective is to enjoy our time together."

Mr Betsis and Ms Dunstan, who met when she was a student in an advertising class, split six years ago.

Ms Dunstan, who has been Oprah Winfrey's baby expert, became world famous for interpreting the cries of babies and moved to LA to pursue her career with a book and TV deal.

Mr Betsis hired a private investigator when she moved house in December without telling him.

He discovered his son was attending a school in the celebrity enclave of Pacific Pallisades, where Ms Dunstan is friends with Hollywood elite, including singer Pink.

Mr Betsis said he would be talking to his solicitor in Sydney before deciding when to hand Tomas to the child protection authorities.

Ms Dunstan could not be contacted last night but a friend said she would not be commenting until her son was with her at home.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25331561-421,00.html





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