London Man Indicted on Kidnapping Charge, Accused of Abducting Man in Georgetown Last Month

            WASHINGTON – Paolo Aldorasi, 34, of London, was indicted today on a federal kidnapping charge stemming from the recent abduction of a man in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips, Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and Peter Newsham, Acting Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            Aldorasi was arrested by the FBI’s Seattle Field Office on Feb. 24, 2017, in SeaTac, Washington, on a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He made his first appearance on Feb. 27, 2017, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. He was ordered detained there pending a hearing set for March 2, 2017.

            The indictment today was returned by a grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge of kidnapping carries a statutory maximum of life in prison.

            According to the complaint, the victim reported that he was abducted on the afternoon of Jan. 26, 2017, from the 3400 block of O Street NW. Aldorasi, who was operating a sport utility vehicle, pulled alongside the victim as he was walking on the street, the complaint alleges. According to the complaint, Aldorasi ordered the victim to get into the vehicle and demanded money. He allegedly took the victim to four ATMs in the District of Columbia, in unsuccessful attempts to withdraw money, as well as to two retail establishments. After about two hours, the complaint states, Aldorasi eventually released the victim, unharmed, in the District of Columbia.

            An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.

            In announcing the indictment, U.S. Attorney Phillips, Assistant Director in Charge Vale, and Acting Chief Newsham commended the work of those who are investigating the case from the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. They expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the FBI’s Seattle Field Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. Finally, they acknowledged the efforts of those who are working on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, including Paralegal Specialist Teesha Tobias, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emory V. Cole and Kamilah House, who are prosecuting the case.