Ending a five-year custody battle, a Brazilian family Thursday delivered a 9-year-old boy to his American father.

As scores of reporters and cameramen tried to get close, the boy, Sean, was brought into the US consulate by his maternal grandmother and his stepfather, making it into the compound’s front door. Inside, his US dad David Goldman was waiting for him.

Two days ago, Brazil’s Supreme Court chief justice had ordered the boy handed over to Goldman.

The pair was expected to fly back to the Goldman’s home in New Jersey within hours.

Since his ex-wife took the 9-year-old to her native country, Goldman of Tinton Falls, New Jersey has been trying to gain custody of his son again. But family members and child psychology experts are concerned that Sean’s re-acclimation to life in the US may be a difficult one.

Leslie Goldman last saw her nephew dashing around with his cousins at a backyard birthday party five years ago, about a week before he was taken to Brazil by his mother. She said that she doesn’t expect the same Sean to step off the plane when the 9-year-old eventually returns to New Jersey.

(article and photo source: NJ.com)