Man Pleads Guilty to International Parental Kidnapping

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Maryland man pleaded guilty today to charges of international parental kidnapping.

Federal agents with the FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) arrested Faical Chebbi, 45, of Accokeek, on June 14 after he landed at Dulles International Airport. According to the court documents, in November 2011, Chebbi removed his two children, then ages 2 and 5, from the United States and took them to Tunisia in violation of the parental rights of the mother.

According to the FBI, as a result of Chebbi’s return to the United States, both children have been reunited with their mother as ordered by the court.

Chebbi faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on October 20. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Casey Owen Durst, Director of CBP’s Baltimore Field Office, made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Haynes is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:11-mj-1015.