Briton Fights to Be Removed From Us Child Abuse Register

A British woman whose children were temporarily taken into care after she fell ill while on a family holiday to the US last year is fighting to have her name removed from New York's child abuse register.

Yvonne Bray was on a post-Christmas shopping trip with her daughters, Gemma, now 16, and Katie, now 14, when she suffered a sudden and severe bout of pneumonia and had to be taken to hospital.

While she was there, her daughters were taken from their hotel and put in a Manhattan children's home for 30 hours. They were asked if they had been abused, and examined by medical staff.

When she was well enough, the 39-year-old and her daughters returned home to Appledore in Devon. But Ms Bray, who has since completed a 12-month course to become a foster carer, says she cannot begin fostering until she can clear her name.

She said she had been sent a letter by New York's Administration for Children's Services (ACS) saying she was the "subject of a report of suspected child abuse or maltreatment".

"Because I fell ill during the holiday, my name is now on the child abuse register in New York," said Ms Bray. "Until I can clear my name, if I set foot back on US soil I'm scared I could be arrested and my children taken into care."

She said that a New York lawyer had started legal proceedings on her behalf after reading about the case.

A spokesman for the ACS said that because the children came into its care, the letter was a standard legal requirement, even though there was no allegation of abuse or neglect. He said the ACS considered the case closed and Ms Bray could request a copy of the case report "which would lay out all of these facts".

Ms Bray said she had waited 12 months for written confirmation that the case had been closed and none had arrived.