Rhode Island Woman Indicted in Federal Court on International Kidnapping Charges

Rhode Island Woman Indicted in Federal Court on International Kidnapping Charges

A North Smithfield woman who allegedly abruptly and without permission removed her five minor children from the United States has been released on unsecured bond and GPS monitoring following her arraignment in federal court on Friday, charged by way of indictment with international parental kidnapping, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

It is alleged in court documents that in December 2021, Jessica Abreu, 33, abruptly and without permission, moved her five children, all under the age of 16, to Alabama, and within months moved them to Tanzania without the knowledge of the children’s father.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, In May of 2022, several months after a Rhode Island Family Court judge presided over a nominal divorce hearing for Abreu and the children’s father, one of the children texted her father and stated that she will miss him.

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The father later learned that Abreu had moved with the children to Tanzania without his knowledge.

 

About the Case

According to court documents, the father had scheduled a June 3, 2022, visitation with the children. Abreu and the children did not appear for the visit. A Rhode Island state court judge scheduled a July 19, 2022, hearing on the matter, for which Jessica Abreu failed to appear.  In August 2022, a Rhode Island Family Court magistrate judge signed an order awarding joint legal custody to Abreu and her ex-husband, and determined the State of Rhode Island as the “Home State” of the children. 

Five days later, the family court found Jessica Abreu in violation of the court order; that she was in violation of applicable federal kidnapping statutes by taking the children to Tanzania and not returning to the United States; and she was ordered to return to the United States with all of the children. The children’s father was awarded sole legal custody and physical placement of the children.

On June 1, 2024, Abreu and her children boarded a flight landing in Los Angeles International Airport. Agents from the FBI and the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families met the plane in Los Angeles. Abreu was taken into custody by the FBI and the children were reunited with their father.

A federal indictment is merely accusations. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christine Lowell and John P. McAdams.