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Illinois Couple Indicted for Kidnapping and Sex Crimes
A federal grand jury has indicted an Illinois couple on charges of kidnapping and transportation with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with a minor, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell, U.S. Attorney James A. Lewis, and Special Agent in Charge Sean Cox of the FBI’s Springfield Division.
Nicole Eason, 37, and Calvin Eason, 46, formerly of Danville and Westville, Illinois, were charged in an indictment unsealed today with two counts of kidnapping of a minor and one count of transportation of a minor. They were previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on April 3, 2015, in Tucson, Arizona. The couple has remained in custody since their arrest.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint, Nicole and Calvin Eason participated in an online adoption discussion board in 2006 and 2007, and sought to adopt a child through a process sometimes referred to as private “re-homing.” This practice is often associated with “disrupted” or failed adoptions, when an adoptive family places their child in another home because the adoptive family can no longer care for the child.
Nicole and Calvin Eason allegedly misrepresented material facts about their background to gain the parents’ trust. They also allegedly lied about having a home study “waiver,” which the parents believed was needed to transfer custody of their child. Based on the Easons’ false misrepresentations, the parents transported their child across state lines in 2007. Both Nicole and Calvin Eason allegedly sexually abused the child while he/she was in their custody.
The indictment further alleges that Nicole and Calvin Eason kidnapped a second minor in the same manner in 2008. The Easons allegedly transported the second minor across state lines.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Springfield Division. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jennifer Toritto Leonardo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson of the Central District of Illinois.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.
The Easons were previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on April 3, 2015, in Tucson, Arizona. They have remained in custody since their arrest.
Defendant Information:
Nicole Eason, 37, and Calvin Eason, 46
Criminal Charges:
Two counts of kidnapping of a minor and one count of transportation of a minor
City and State:
Danville and Westville, Illinois
Arrest Date:
April 3, 2015
Current Status:
In custody
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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