SEATTLE – A grim tale of custody gone wrong has reached its conclusion as Jeffrey Ford Hanson, 46, a Seattle man, pleaded guilty to International Parental Kidnapping in U.S. District Court.
Hanson had been the subject of an international manhunt since October 2014 when he eluded law enforcement by sailing away with his son, violating a court-approved parenting plan. The saga began on July 17, 2014, when Hanson’s son arrived in Seattle to visit for summer months, only to be unlawfully taken across the Pacific Ocean aboard Hanson’s sailboat, the Draco.
When the boy did not return to Pennsylvania before school started as scheduled, his mother sounded the alarm. The search was a multinational effort involving the Coast Guard, law enforcement agencies in the Pacific Rim, and ultimately led to Hanson’s capture on October 29, 2014, by Niue police.
The FBI’s Legal Attaché office in Canberra passed crucial information to the Pacific Transnational Crime Coordination Center, leading to Hanson’s arrest. The boy was safely returned to his mother, and now, under a plea agreement, prosecutors recommend that Hanson serve time already served – approximately seven months in prison.
Judge James L. Robart has the discretion to impose any sentence up to the maximum allowed by law. The investigation was a collaborative effort led by the FBI’s Seattle Safe Streets Task Force, Hazleton Police Department, FBI Philadelphia and Los Angeles field offices, Port of Seattle Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard, and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. New Zealand Police, New Zealand Customs Service, and Immigration New Zealand also played significant roles.
Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Arnold and Steven Masada are prosecuting the case. Sentencing is scheduled for June 8, 2014.
Related Federal Cases
- Seattle Cybersecurity Summit: U.S. Attorneys Battle Hacktivism · Pennsylvania
- FDIC Appoints Five New Members to Advisory Committee on Community Banking · Mississippi
- James Halts AmeriCorps Funding Dismantling · Washington
- Attorney General James Co-Leads Coalition to Save Humanitarian Parole Program · Pennsylvania
- 23andMe Faces Legal Fire for Genetic Data Sale · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
