A Fresno mother who hired strangers to snatch her teenage son from a local ice rink and haul him halfway across the country will spend three years in federal prison. A jury found that she paid people to abduct the then 16-year-old and move him across state lines in violation of a court-ordered protective order, a case that has been closely watched across Central California since the August 2021 abduction.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour handed down the three-year sentence on April 27, following a five-day jury trial last December, according to CBS Sacramento<\/a>. Prosecutors said the teen was taken from an ice-skating rink in Fresno, driven to Missouri, kept in handcuffs for more than a day, and held at a youth facility until his father managed to get him out.<\/p>\n How Prosecutors Say The Rink Abduction Went Down<\/p>\n Federal prosecutors say Gaviola paid several individuals to grab her son at a Fresno ice-skating rink on Aug. 21, 2021, force him into handcuffs for more than 24 hours, and drive him to Stockton, Missouri, where he was delivered to a youth facility, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of California<\/a>. The boy was held there until his father arrived and secured his release.<\/p>\n U.S. Attorney Eric Grant did not mince words in describing the conduct at trial, saying, “No parent, indeed, no person whatsoever, has the right to subject a child to kidnapping and terror.”<\/p>\n The case went to trial after the teen obtained a domestic violence protection order against his mother in 2020. Defense attorneys pushed to have the case tossed, arguing prosecutorial misconduct and pointing to a string of recusals by local judges, as reported by The Fresno Bee<\/a>. In the end, Sacramento-based federal prosecutors took over, and the government presented evidence that tied Gaviola to the transport plan.<\/p>\n The Missouri Facility At The Center Of The Case<\/p>\n According to prosecutors, the teen was taken to the Agape boarding program in Stockton, Missouri, a facility that has since shut down amid investigations and lawsuits accusing staff of abuse, a history detailed in national reporting by the AP<\/a>. Former students and attorneys have long described a pattern of complaints that drew scrutiny from state and federal officials.<\/p>\n The Sentence And What Comes Next<\/p>\n At sentencing, Judge Coughenour imposed a three-year federal prison term on Gaviola, according to GV Wire<\/a>. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Veronica M.A. Alegr\u00eda and Heiko P. Coppola prosecuted the case.<\/p>\n Why The Case Matters Legally<\/p>\n