NCJ Number
174292
Journal
Prosecutor Volume: 32 Issue: 2 Dated: March/April 1998 Pages: 20-21-36
Date Published
1998
Length
6 pages
Annotation
Each year, more than 350,000 children are kidnapped by one of their parents; a small but growing percentage of them are taken across international borders.
Abstract
Two scenarios are generally present in international parental kidnapping cases: (1) the dissolution of an international marriage or relationship, with one parent returning to his or her country of origin; and (2) the parent flees to the nearest contiguous foreign land to further elude and complicate case investigation by authorities. When the prosecutor is presented with an international parental kidnapping case, the following fact patterns may be present: both child and abductor are missing, the child has been located but not returned, the abductor has been located but is not within the jurisdiction of the court, or the child has been recovered and the abductor is within the prosecutor's jurisdiction. Regardless of the particular scenario presented, prosecutors need to be aware of the special procedures involved in international parental kidnapping cases. Agencies to contact when neither the child nor the abductor has been located are identified, including local authorities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the International Criminal Police Organization, and the Department of State's Office of Children's Issues. Procedures are also outlined for cases in which the child has been located but not returned and cases in which the abductor has been located abroad but not returned. Issues prosecutors must address in handling international parental kidnapping cases are examined, such as arraignment and bail, pretrial motions, plea negotiations, jury selection, opening statements, meeting defenses, and sentencing. 14 endnotes