Chinese Man Sentenced for International Kidnapping

LEXINGTON, Ky. -A Chinese national lawfully residing in the United States, Hao Qiu, 39, was sentenced on Friday to 30 months by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for international parental kidnapping.

Qiu, a citizen of China, has three children with a United States citizen who resided in Fayette County. Qiu and the children's mother negotiated an agreement, through their attorneys in a custody case, for Qiu to drive the children on a vacation to Florida. Unknown to their mother, Qiu obtained duplicate Chinese passports for each of the three children and made reservations to fly all of them to Beijing, China, through multiple countries. Qui drove the children to California and then removed the children from the U.S., by crossing the border to Mexico. They then flew from Mexico to Cuba to Panama, where the Panamanian authorities detained Qiu as he and the children were boarding a flight to Turkey. Following a rapid response by the FBI, the Department of State, and the Department of Justice, the Panamanian authorities ultimately returned the children to their mother's custody.

Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Filed Office jointly announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Boone is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

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