dispute that has split a Bermudian family in two.

Mrs. Anita Sousa and her boyfriend Mr. Richard Powell asked Sir John to help them get Mrs. Sousa's ten-year-old daughter back from Boston, where she lives with her father Mr. Allan Sousa and his wife.

Mr. Sousa was granted custody of the girl and the couple's three other daughters in 1988. Mrs. Sousa claims the girls have been physically and mentally abused since then -- an accusation which Mr. Sousa and his wife vigorously deny.

Two of the girls support their mother, and two of them support their father.

The parents accuse each other of mistreating and "brain washing'' the children.

Sir John said he told Mrs. Sousa he would not intervene, after talking to the Attorney General.

"His advice is that the only course of action that is open is to go through the normal judicial process: to go through the courts there to seek custody of the child.'' Sir John said the Attorney General advised him that Mrs. Sousa "needed to seek legal counsel and go through the procedure there of convincing the courts that she should have custody.'' Mrs. Sousa and Mr. Powell had said they could not afford to fight for custody in US courts, and wanted Sir John to persuade Gov. William Weld of Massachusetts to make sure the 10-year-old is returned to Bermuda.

But Sir John said the Governor of Massachusetts -- or of any other state -- "most definitely would not interfere with the judicial process.'' Two of the Sousa's four daughters -- one 14 and the other 16 -- returned to their mother in Bermuda last year and have since claimed they were physically and mentally abused in Boston.

In November, Chief Justice Sir James Astwood granted their mother temporary custody of the two girls until a hearing can be heard involving all parties.

Mr. Sousa and his wife, who were not at the November hearing, say their daughters were not abused in any way in Boston.

The Sousas' 17-year-old daughter agreed. In a separate interview, she said her two sisters were lying. They prefer living with their mother simply because they are given unlimited freedom, she said.

The 10-year-old girl says she wants to stay with her father in Boston, both sides agree. But Mr. Powell said she, too, has been "brain washed'' and would come to her senses once she returned to Bermuda.

In addition, Mrs. Sousa claims her ex-husband has disobeyed the visitation provisions of the 1988 custody agreement.

Mr. Sousa, fearful that his ex-wife will try to take his 10-year-old daughter away, is seeking to have the 1988 Bermuda custody order recognised and enforced in Massachusetts.

Mrs. Sousa has until April 23 to appear in court in Boston to object. But Mrs.

Sousa and Mr. Powell say they cannot afford to fight a court battle in the United States.