Man Indicted For Kidnapping In Fairbanks

Anchorage, Alaska – United States Attorney Karen L. Loeffler announced today that a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against Michael Dewayne Bowen, Jr., 40, charging him with kidnapping two girls in North Pole, Alaska.

According to the Indictment, on August 1, 2015, Bowen willfully and unlawfully seized, confined, inveigled, decoyed, kidnapped, abducted, and carried away the two girls, ages 6 and 9 years old, using any means, facility and instrumentality of interstate and foreign commerce and transported them within the special jurisdiction of the United States.

The case was the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the North Pole Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Audrey J. Renschen and U.S. Department of Justice Trial Attorney Jeffrey Zeeman are prosecuting the case.

If convicted of kidnapping, Bowen faces a minimum statutory penalty of 20 years, and up to life imprisonment, as to each count.  Both counts also carry fines of up to $250,000, as well as the possibility of a life time period of supervised release following any sentence of imprisonment.  Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched to protect children from exploitation.