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Two federal criminal statutes expressly apply to family-abduction cases. They are the Fugitive Felon Act and International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act. The FBI has jurisdiction to investigate alleged violations of these federal statutes.

Fugitive Felon Act The Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act, 18 USC 1073 note, states that the Fugitive Felon Act applies to interstate- and international-abduc- tion cases when an abductor flees the state or country to avoid prosecution under applicable state felony statutes. The Fugitive Felon Act, 18 USC 1073, is a federal statute in aid of state prosecution. It allows state and local prosecutors to obtain the FBI’s help in finding and returning fugitives who have fled the state or coun- try to avoid felony prosecutions. The FBI becomes involved in the investigation upon issuance of a UFAP warrant. Although federal criminal charges are initially brought against the fugitive, those charges are dropped and the fugitive is pros- ecuted under state law upon return to the state.

Left-behind parents interested in the issuance of a UFAP warrant should direct their requests to the local or state prosecutor, not the FBI or U.S. Attor- ney. It is up to the state or local prosecutor to apply for the warrant.

The local or state prosecutor applies in writing to the U.S. Attorney or FBI for a UFAP warrant under the Fugitive Felon Act. The state prosecutor must give assurances that the offender will be extradited for prosecution. There must also be evidence that the abductor has left the state. A federal UFAP warrant usually will not be issued if the abductor’s whereabouts are known, since in such cases the prosecutor can begin extradition without the help of the FBI. Exceptions are made in international-abduction cases. If a UFAP warrant is issued, the FBI inves- tigates the case. If the fugitive-parent has fled to another country, the FBI may call

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upon foreign law-enforcement authorities to investigate. If the FBI locates the abductor in the U.S., the FBI makes the arrest and turns the abductor over to state authorities for extradition and prosecution under state law. If the abductor is located abroad, U.S. law-enforcement authorities must request assistance from their foreign counterparts to make an arrest. The FBI does not have jurisdiction in other countries. Once the fugitive is arrested, federal criminal charges under the Fugitive Felon Act are normally dropped.

The FBI’s investigation pursuant to a UFAP warrant is directed at finding and returning the fugitive. The child is not the focus of the investigation; however, if the FBI locates the child in the course of their investigation of the abductor, they may alert local child-welfare authorities and the left-behind parent, who can then pursue recovery of the child. If the child is present when the abductor is arrested, the FBI can turn the child over to state authorities. If the abductor is located but the child is not, left-behind parents must continue to search for the child on their own.

The International Parental Kidnapping Crime Act IPKCA makes it a federal felony to remove a child younger than 16 from the U.S. or retain a child outside the U.S. with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental rights. IPKCA defines parental rights as the right to physical custody of the child, including visitation rights, whether the right is joint or sole and whether the right arises by operation of law, court order, or legally binding agreement of the parties. IPKCA provides affirmative defenses if the defendant was acting within the provisions of a valid custody or visitation order; was fleeing an incidence or pattern of domestic vio- lence; or failed to return the child due to circumstances beyond his or her control, notified or made reasonable attempts to notify the other parent within 24 hours, and returned the child as soon as possible. Violation of the statute is punishable by a fine, up to 3 years’ imprisonment, or both.

IPKCA expresses the sense of the U.S. Congress that the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction should be the first option for a parent seeking a child’s return from a country party to that convention.

The U.S. Attorney, usually in the district from which the child was taken, has authority to bring IPKCA charges in an international-abduction case. The U.S. Attorney considers, among other things, whether state charges are pending that could effectively resolve the case, and whether IPKCA is the only charging option. Some offenses cannot be charged under state law such as pre-decree abductions in states that require violation of an order as an element of the offense and abductions that interfere with visitation rights in states that do not punish visitation interference. If the abduction is to a Hague-Convention country, the U.S. Attorney will consider whether a civil remedy has been sought under the Hague Convention and criminal prosecution would adversely affect return proceedings. If the abduction is to a non-Hague-Convention country, the U.S. Attorney will consider whether extradition from that country is feasible.

The FBI investigates IPKCA violations, usually following a complaint by the left-behind parent. As in UFAP investigations, the FBI’s goal is to find and appre- hend the abductor. If the child is located as a result of the investigation, the actual return of the child must be arranged by the parent.

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