Defendants Sentenced to the Maximum in International Parental Kidnapping Case

BUFFALO, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Linda Wynn, 63, and William Amacher, 40, of Jamestown, New York, were sentenced to three years in prison by Chief U.S. District Court Judge William M. Skretny after pleading guilty to international parental kidnapping in March, 2010.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated that the defendants intentionally fled with a child from Chautauqua County to Reynosa, Mexico during the course of a child custody proceeding. At the time of the kidnapping, Wynn had custody of the child but the child’s biological mother was in the process of regaining custody, prompting Wynn and her son, William Amacher, to flee. The child was found in Reynosa as a result of a tip from an individual leaving near the child and the defendants. That tip resulted in a picture of the child being entered into a missing persons data base which confirmed the identity of the child.

"This case highlights just how valuable information from the public can be in helping to resolve a case" said U.S. Attorney Hochul. "It also sends a strong message that we will cross borders if necessary to bring a defendant to justice."

The conviction was the culmination of an investigation on the part of special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James Robertson, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department under the direction of Sheriff Joseph Gerace.