1 state drops charges in parent kidnapping case

Local prosecutors dropped charges Tuesday against a Maine couple accused of kidnapping their pregnant daughter in hopes of forcing her to undergo an abortion, saying it was more efficient to have them face trial in their home state.

The move came a day after Maine prosecutors filed kidnapping charges against Nicholas and Lola Kampf.

“This is a standard procedure on cross-border cases,” said Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams. “While both states could prosecute for the offenses, it is not always efficient and effective to prosecute in both jurisdictions.”

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The Kampfs are accused of tying up their 19-year-old daughter, Katelyn, in Maine on Sept. 15, throwing her in their car and driving toward New York, where investigators believe they hoped to get her an abortion.

Katelyn escaped at a shopping center in Salem, N.H., and called police. Her parents were charged with kidnapping and jailed in New Hampshire for several days before posting bail.

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The Kampfs, wealthy real estate developers, face up to 30 years in prison on the Maine charges, double the maximum in New Hampshire. But Cumberland County (Maine) District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said she won’t seek anywhere near the maximum sentence.

Anderson said she thought the couple might have been motivated by concern about Katelyn’s boyfriend, Reme Johnson, 22, who is serving a six-month jail sentence for theft. Katelyn says he is the baby’s father. Earlier, authorities had said that the fact Johnson is black may also have been a factor in the case.