Norfolk Woman Indicted for Kidnapping Infant

NORFOLK, VA—Jaquissa Bryant, 20, of Norfolk, Va., was indicted by a Norfolk federal grand jury today on kidnapping and making false statements.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Alex J. Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and Sharon Chamberlin, Norfolk Acting Chief of Police, made the announcement after the indictment was returned. If convicted, Bryant faces a minimum penalty of 20 years in prison.

According to court documents, in April 2011 Bryant kidnapped a four-month-old male infant from Norfolk. Bryant misled law enforcement in the investigation, in part, by claiming that the infant had died and she had dumped the body in a dumpster in South Carolina. Bryant also claimed that the infant was with a fictitious woman in Chesapeake, Va. Law enforcement soon found the infant in Jackson, Ala. The infant was safe and was later returned to his mother in Norfolk.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Norfolk Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth M. Yusi is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

Criminal indictments are only charges and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at www.justice.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov/.