The father who claims his wife abandoned their newborn son because he has Down syndrome has  four other children from a previous marriage, including a girl with the same condition, Daily Mail Australia can reveal. Samuel Forrest and his wife Ruzan Badalyan split just a week after their son Leo was born with Down syndrome in Armenia on January 21. Mr Forrest, who says his wife of 18 months abandoned their son because her family were ashamed of his condition, has made global headlines since he started crowd fundraising to bring Leo to his native New Zealand. Samuel Forrest left New Zealand a few years ago following a messy divorce that saw him lose his four young children (pictured), including his youngest daughter who has Down syndrome - the same condition affected his three-week-old son Leo
@highlight
Samuel Forrest and his wife Ruzan Badalyan split just a week after their son Leo was born with Down syndrome in Armenia on January 21
@highlight
He says she abandoned their son because her family were ashamed of his condition
@highlight
He has been crowd fundraising to bring Leo to his native New Zealand
@highlight
Mr Forrest left New Zealand after a messy divorce saw him lose his four children, including a daughter with Down syndrome
@highlight
He was expelled from Exclusive Brethren church for divorcing his wife in 2011 and hasn't seen his family since
@placeholder is the number one priority for me right now and needs all my attention.'
There are also plans to use some of the funds to support parents in @placeholder who are raising children with disabilities.