A southern New Jersey woman jailed in an international custody dispute has been freed after spending more than eight years behind bars and is likely to be reunited with her daughter who's been without either parent for nearly a decade. María Jose Carrascosa, a 49-year-old native of Spain, was released from jail Friday night, The Record reported. Carrascosa, formerly of Fort Lee, was paroled last year after moving her daughter, then 5, to Spain when the girl's father, Peter Innes, was granted custody of the child. Freed: María Jose Carrascosa was released from a New Jersey jail on Friday after spending nearly 9 years behind bars for refusing to return her daughter to the United States . Defiant: Carrascosa defiantly refused to bring her daughter back to the United States and thus remained jailed nearly nine years . Once paroled, Carrascosa was taken to the Bergen County Jail for contempt of court for violating a court order to bring the child back. Her release came in part thanks to a letter written to the court by Peter Innes. Superior Court Judge Bonnie Mizdol, ultimately deciding that incarceration would not coerce Carrascosa to comply with child custody orders, ordered her release from jail Friday. Jail time for contempt of court is meant to coerce a person into cooperating with a judges orders, not as a punishment. However, Carrascosa defiantly refused to bring her daughter back to the United States and thus remained jailed. 'The question before this court is whether incarceration has lost its coercive power and has become punitive,' Judge Mizdol said. 'It has become clear that continued incarceration would not compel her to return her daughter, so it would be deemed punitive.' During the hearing, the judge read a letter from Innes, of Hasbrouck Heights, that said he would not oppose Carrascosa's release if she returns to Spain to be with their daughter, Victoria. The judge also read a letter from Victoria, who is now 14, that said: 'My only wish is to be with my mother.' Tearful reunion: Carrascosa had a tearful reunion with her daughter via Skype following her release and says she plans to return to Spain as soon as possible . Finally: Carrascosa's release came after her daughter and estranged husband wrote letters to the court urging a judge to set her free . Dear Victoria, . This is what you've been asking for and I am happy for you this day has finally come. You should know that I did all I could, including petitioning the judge, to help get your mom released. I did this so she can return to you in Spain. Please know, you mom is completely free to immediately leave the United States and return to Spain. I truly hope she is with you tomorrow. For me, this conflict is over. I wish you and your family well and I hope you enjoy your reunion with your mother. I will always be here for you when the time comes that you want to hear the truth as I know it. Love, . Dad . Source: VictoriaInnes.com . Pictured here at the start of their marriage, Peter Innes and María Jose Carrascosa would end the union with a bitter divorce and battle over their daughter. Last week, Innes relented and chose to give his daughter what she wanted--her mother back . 'I am glad it is over and she is out,' Peter Innes told the The Record. 'I just hope she is on her way home to see our daughter.' Carrascosa moved her daughter to Spain but continued the custody dispute in New Jersey when she was arrested in 2006. When a Family Court judge in Bergen County ordered her to bring the child back within 10 days or go to jail, Carrascosa refused, declaring that she would rather die in jail than bring her daughter back to New Jersey. Carrascosa was convicted in 2009 of willful interference with child custody, which resulted in the prison sentence. Footage taken following her release Friday by Spanish language station RTVE.es shows Carrascosa sharing a tearful reunion via Skype with her 14-year-old daughter. Carrascosa told reporters she intends to return to her native Spain, where in the last several years the case has gained widespread media attention and demands for her release, as soon as possible. 'My idea is to return to Spain, to reunite with my daughter and my parents, and there, God will provide,' Carrascosa told reporters, though she said the arrangements for her return could take months of unraveling delicate legal issues. Mr. Innes did not attend the hearing and says his daughter has not spoken to him for several years. he told The Record that he's reached out to Victoria, who lives in Valencia, via email several times but has not received any response. 'My idea is to return to Spain, to reunite with my daughter and my parents, and there, God will provide,' Carrascosa told reporters in an interview that followed her release . Innes runs a website named after his daughter in which he's laid out his side of the drawn-out dispute. On the site, Innes claims his ex-wife, an attorney by training, is a shady businesswoman with a habit of slandering him to anyone who will listen. Innes even suggests Carrascosa is mentally ill in addition to being an outright snob. He writes: . 'Her erratic and often delusional behavior suggest she suffers from psychiatric problems, . 'She and her elitist and wealthy European family consider themselves above such "common people" like the Innes family and above the laws of the United States.' However, even Innes seems to have come around on the issue of his ex-wife's incarceration. In his letter to the court, he stipulated that he was unopposed to her release so long as she returns immediately to Spain to be with their daughter. Innes has updated his site since Friday to reflect his ex-wife's release with a letter to Victoria explaining his role in the release.
Spanish national María Jose Carrascosa, 49, was jailed in 2006 after refusing to return her daughter to the custody of her father in New Jersey . She was released Friday, in part because her estranged ex Peter Innes wrote a letter asking the court to do what's best for their daughter, now 14 . Carrascosa, now the focus of widespread media attention in Spain, plans to return to Valencia as soon as possible to be with her daughter . The two have already had a tearful reunion after Carrascosa's release via Skype .