.
.
Allison Quets parental kidnapping case
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/534375.html
Lawyers say Quets has few options
Allison Quets is accused of kidnapping her biological twins and fleeing to Canada. Lawyers from similar cases say her defense won't be easy
Andrea Weigl and Sarah Ovaska, Staff Writers
RALEIGH - When Allison Quets has to defend herself on federal charges of international parental kidnapping, her lawyers will face a difficult task, say prosecutors and a defense lawyer who have handled similar cases.
Quets, 49, of Orlando, Fla., appeared in a federal courtroom Friday afternoon in Raleigh and heard a judge explain the charge against her. Quets is accused of kidnapping the twins she gave up for adoption and taking them to Canada last month.
Wearing a khaki-colored jumpsuit and white T-shirt, Quets shuffled across the courtroom with her legs shackled and her hands cuffed before the restraints were removed for the hearing. She took off her wire-rimmed eyeglasses and leaned forward to listen to U.S. Magistrate William A. Webb conduct the first hearing.
She said little in the brief hearing, other than to tell Webb she had hired two Wilmington lawyers to represent her. She also asked the judge to explain what will happen next Friday in a probable cause and detention hearing. Prosecutors will submit evidence showing why they think Quets kidnapped the twins from the adoptive parents, Kevin and Denise Needham of Apex.
Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bowler also indicated that prosecutors will ask that Quets remain in jail until trial. Meanwhile, she is being held in Wake County jail.
Outside the courthouse after the hearing, her lawyers, Dennis H. Sullivan Jr. and Bruce A. Mason, said Quets was not a flight risk despite her journey last month with the twins. The lawyers cited Quets' voluntary return to the United States.
"She's done nothing but fight for the well-being of her children," Sullivan said.
Quets' legal defense will not be easy because authorities say the Needhams did not give her permission take the twins to Canada.
"There aren't a lot of defenses if the custodial parent did not consult in the taking," said Boston lawyer Peter Horstmann, who defended a father who took his son to Russia for four months.
However, Horstmann added, "The good news is the maximum sentence is three years."
It is unclear how much time Quets could face in prison if she is convicted. She could be charged with two counts, one for each child, and face as long as six years.
A difficult pregnancy
At 47, Quets got pregnant through in-vitro fertilization. Her friends say she struggled with severe nausea and vomiting, and gained only 10 pounds. Her friends say the illness left her wondering whether she would survive, let alone be able to care for twin infants. A former boyfriend and close friend suggested to Quets that she let his relatives, the Needhams, adopt the twins. Five weeks after their birth, Quets agreed. A short time later, Quets changed her mind and has sought
legal custody ever since.
In June, a Florida judge granted custody to the Needhams and granted visitation rights to Quets while the case was on appeal.
The Needhams, through their lawyers, dispute the account of the adoption being described by Quets' friends.
Under the court order, Quets could see the twins once a month from 6 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Sunday. She rented an apartment in Durham for such occasions.
Authorities say Quets picked up the twins Dec. 22 and was supposed to return them two days later. Instead, authorities say, Quets fled to Ontario with the twins. She was arrested a week later.
Federal law lists three possible defenses to international parental kidnapping, although Quets may be able to raise others. They include that
the
defendant didn't violate a custody or visitation order,
that the defendant was fleeing domestic violence,
or that the defendant was unable to return the child as a result of unforeseen circumstances.
For the latter defense, the defendant had to notify or try to notify the other parent within 24 hours about the delay and return the child as soon as possible.
Scott Golde, a former federal prosecutor in St. Louis, said these cases come down to proving that the defendant took the child and violated someone's parental rights. Golde prosecuted a father for taking the youngest of his three children to the West Bank without his wife's permission.
"It's almost like prosecuting a divorce case," Golde said.
Cris Stevens, an assistant U.S. attorney in St. Louis, agreed, especially when the defendant raises a domestic violence defense. Stevens prosecuted a father who took his 1-year-old daughter to the Philippines, New Zealand and Australia for three years.
Sullivan declined to comment about what defense he may present on Quets' behalf.
.
.