Kelly Rutherford Fights Back Tears, Loses Sole Custody Battle Of Two Children

Kelly Rutherford had to fight back tears when a New York judge ordered her to hand over her children to their paternal grandmother and return them to Monaco.

The actress appeared in court Tuesday morning to face the consequences of failing to send her children back in Monaco on Friday, stated People. A California court ordered an arrangement in 2012 giving joint custody, but had the children live permanently with their father, Daniel Giersch, in Monaco when his U.S. visa was revoked. Since then, Rutherford has been fighting to keep her children on U.S. soil and raised separate appeals with the California and New York courts. Her efforts were unsuccessful, as both courts declared they don’t have jurisdiction over the case.

The former “Gossip Girl” star was required to appear in court with her two children Tuesday, after a New York Supreme Court judge signed a writ of habeas corpus on Monday filed by Rutherford’s ex-husband, Giersch. Initially she appeared without her son and daughter, in order to protect them from the “media circus” outside the courthouse.

This move angered Judge Ellen Frances Gesmer, but Rutherford’s lawyer told Germer that the children are “close by, maybe 10 minutes away." Just before noon, Hermes and Helena were brought in through the court’s side entrance. Ultimately, Rutherford had to part with her children in the courthouse and handed over their U.S. passports to Giersch’s mother.

In a lengthy statement made to E!News last Friday, the actress described that the past three years as a difficult time, as she waited to have her children come home. Rutherford added, "My children were forced to leave the United States in 2012 when they were only two and five years old... The decisions in California and New York means no state in this country is currently protecting my children. It also means that no state in this country currently requires me to send the children away. Hence, I have decided that I cannot lawfully send my children away from the United States to live in a foreign country."

The statement was made prior the New York Supreme Court’s “writ of habeas corpus” order released on Monday.