by Davy James, Staff Writer
A Kendall Park mother was placed on probation for a year for interfering with the custody of her two children after taking them on an unauthorized trip to India.
Assha Thomas, 28, was given the probationary term on Feb. 27 during a hearing before Superior Court Judge Joseph Donahue in the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, according to the Middlesex County prosecutor’s office.
Judge Donahue also ordered Ms. Thomas to surrender any documents she would need to travel to India, in order to prevent her from taking the children out of the country without court permission.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Ms. Thomas, her 4-year-old son and 5-year-old daughter left for India on June 8, 2008. Ms. Thomas was aided in leaving the country by her co-defendant in the case, Ryan Ramdass, 34, who lived with Ms. Thomas in a Kendall Park residence.
Police began an investigation after Ms. Thomas’ ex-husband, who has joint custody of the children, contacted authorities and told them she had taken the children to India on an unauthorized trip, which is in violation of a court order.
Police arrested Ms. Thomas on June 29, 2008 after she returned with the children. She pleaded guilty on Jan. 14, 2009 during a hearing before Judge Donahue.
The case was transferred to Union County in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict, because Ms. Thomas worked as an information technology specialist at the Middlesex County Courthouse. In addition, Mr. Ramdass was a Middlesex County sheriff’s officer at the time they were arrested.
Mr. Ramdass was admitted into a pre-trial probationary program on Jan. 14, 2009. He had been charged with interference, hindering apprehension and giving a false statement to authorities. Judge Donahue credited Ms. Thomas with the two days she was incarcerated following her arrest.
The prosecutor’s office did not have information on the current custody status of the children.

