AMARILLO, TX—An Amarillo, Texas
resident, Badr Djelti, 35, has been arrested by the FBI and charged in a
federal felony complaint with parental kidnapping, announced U.S. Attorney
Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. Djelti made his initial
appearance in court this afternoon and was detained pending further court
action.
According to the affidavit filed with
the complaint, on December 13, 2011, Djelti, a citizen of Algeria who is
legally residing in the U.S., allegedly kidnapped his 2-year-old child, taking
the child to Algeria with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of parental
rights. On approximately January 13, 2012, Djelti returned to the U.S., but he
did not bring the child back with him and told his wife, a U.S. citizen, that
he had left their child with his parents in Algeria. Djelti and his wife
separated in August 2010, two months after the birth of their child.
On April 19, 2012, following a court
hearing, a judge in the 320th Judicial District Court of Potter County, Texas,
ordered that Djelti make flight arrangements to Algeria within 48 hours and
return the child to the mother at the Amarillo Police Department at 5:00 p.m.
on April 26, 2012. In that order, the judge found that Djelti has a history or
pattern of family violence but that awarding Djelti access to the child would
not endanger the child’s welfare. However, Djelti asked his wife’s attorney for
more time so that he could take his final exams at Amarillo College. They
agreed and Djelti e-mailed his wife’s attorney a receipt showing that he had
purchased a plane ticket to depart Amarillo on May 13, 2012 and return with
their child on May 29, 2012.
The affidavit further states that
Djelti’s wife heard one of Djelti’s co-workers state that Djelti does not
intend to return to the U.S. with the child. A witness, according to the
complaint, stated that he/she recently heard Djelti tell customers that once
his semester finals are over, he is going back to Algeria to be with his child
and indicating that he would not be bringing the child back to the U.S.
A federal complaint is a written
statement of the essential facts of the offenses charged, and must be made
under oath before a magistrate judge. A defendant is entitled to the
presumption of innocence until proven guilty. If convicted of this offense as
charged, however, Djelti faces a maximum statutory sentence of three years in
prison and a $250,000 fine. The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present
the matter to a grand jury for indictment.
The investigation is being conducted by
the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christy Drake of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in
Amarillo, is in charge of the prosecution.
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