Maine Parents Charged With Kidnapping Pregnant Daughter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Maine couple, infuriated that their 19-year-old daughter was pregnant, were being held Monday on charges that they tied her up, loaded her in their car and headed toward New York to force her to get an abortion, police said.
"Her parents chased her out into the yard, grabbed and tied her hands and feet together," Salem Police Officer Sean Marino wrote in a court affidavit. "Katelyn states that her father then carried her to their car and they headed toward New Hampshire."
Katelyn Kampf escaped Friday at a shopping center in Salem and called police, authorities said.
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The parents, identified as Nicholas Kampf, 54, and his wife, Lola, 53, of North Yarmouth, Maine, were to be arraigned Monday in Salem District Court by video from jail in Brentwood. If convicted of kidnapping, they face 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison.
Investigators said rope, duct tape, scissors and a .22-caliber rifle were found in the Kampfs' vehicle and Nicholas Kampf had a loaded .22-caliber magazine clip in his pants pocket.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Kampfs were upset that their daughter was pregnant by a man who is now in jail, police said, and the kidnapping began with an argument Friday morning at the parents' home.
"Katelyn stated to me that upon her parents finding out that she was pregnant, they told her she had no choice but to get an abortion," Marino wrote in his court affidavit.
Katelyn Kampf escaped from her parents in Salem after persuading them to untie her so she could use a Kmart bathroom. After her father went into the men's room, she used a cell phone to call for help, then ran to a nearby Staples store, where police found "a hysterical female hiding in the back of the store," according to the affidavit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The police accompanied Katelyn Kampf to the mall parking lot, where her parents were circling in their car. Katelyn Kampf got into Marino's cruiser while Sgt. Kristin Fili pulled over her parents and asked for their license and registration. When Lola Kampf opened the passenger side door, Fili spotted rope, duct tape and scissors, she said Monday.
"They told us initially they did take her here against her will, but they denied tying her up initially," Fili said. Although Katelyn Kampf was not injured, "Obviously what happened was a crime. She was taken against her will," she said.
Authorities filed a temporary restraining order against Nicholas and Lola Kampf on behalf of their daughter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The couple, who have no notable police record, were being held in the Rockingham County Jail on $100,000 bail each. Police said they could face additional charges in Maine.
Authorities in Maine were investigating what led up to the kidnapping, but said the parents apparently thought that, in light of their daughter's stage of pregnancy and the different abortion laws in each state, the abortion should be performed in New York.
Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion told the Maine Sunday Telegram that detectives planned to interview medical providers to find out what advice the parents were given about the pregnancy.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It's a pretty dramatic response to her being pregnant, some would say outrageous response," Dion said. "So before we draw conclusions, we need to flesh out the precursor facts."
Abortion laws in Maine prohibit the termination of pregnancy after the fetus is able to live outside the uterus, unless the mother's life or health is at stake. New York law prohibits abortions after the 24th week of pregnancy unless the mother's life is at stake.
He said the Kampfs, who formerly owned the State Theater in Portland, could face federal charges because they crossed state lines.
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