Nicholas Kampf, 54, and Lola Kampf, 53
Posted on 09/18/2006 3:08:06 AM PDT by billorites
SALEM – A Maine couple faces felony charges after allegedly kidnapping their pregnant daughter and driving her across state lines in an attempt to force an abortion on her.
The North Yarmouth couple - Nicholas Kampf, 54, and Lola Kampf, 53 - were arrested by Salem police Friday after their daughter, Katelyn, called 911 saying she had been kidnapped, police said.
Nicholas Kampf, 54, and Lola Kampf, 53
Sgt. Ron Peddle said the daughter persuaded her parents to untie her so she could use the restroom at a South Broadway shopping plaza.
"While she was in the ladies' room, her father went into the men's room" and she made her escape, dialing 911 on a cellphone, Peddle said. Authorities found Katelyn Kampf behind the shopping plaza, which is across the street from the police station.
Police allege that the parents had bound their daughter with rope around her feet and hands and forced her into their car Friday morning.
The daughter told investigators in Maine that her parents assaulted her after they found out she was pregnant, Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion said yesterday. She told police her parents tied her up and were planning to take her to New York state for an emergency abortion, he said.
"No matter what the case is, this is not a rational way to deal with a family issue," Dion said.
The Kampfs are scheduled to be arraigned on kidnapping charges today via live video feed in Salem District Court, said Salem Police Lt. Mike McGuire. They were being held yesterday on $100,000 bail each in the Rockingham County jail in Brentwood. If convicted, they face 7½ to 15 years in prison. They could face additional charges in Maine.
Police said they discovered the parents driving around the parking lot - apparently looking for their daughter - shortly after they found Katelyn Kampf. They said they uncovered rope, duct tape, scissors and a .22-caliber rifle when they searched their car. Nicholas Kampf was also allegedly carrying a .22-caliber clip in his pocket, the sheriff's department said.
Dion said Katelyn Kampf had been living with her boyfriend in Portland, Maine, and had attended Boston College. Dion said the daughter is traumatized by what has happened.
"I think it's traumatizing any time you're a victim of a crime and your parents are the perpetrators," he said.
She has been interviewed by police in New Hampshire and Maine. McGuire said it was unclear yesterday what she revealed during her interview in Salem. He said the parents allegedly stopped to use a Kmart restroom around 3:30 p.m. Friday.
Because the investigation involved two states, federal authorities may get involved. The oddness of the case makes the investigation more difficult, Dion said.
"It's a pretty dramatic response to her being pregnant, some would say outrageous response," Dion said.
He said it's unclear how the alleged kidnappers expected to get a doctor to perform an abortion against the young woman's will or why the parents acted as they did.
"There may be some other deeper issues," he said. "That's why we have to continue our investigation."
In light of the stage of the pregnancy and the different abortion laws in each state, the Kampfs believed that an abortion should be performed in New York, the sheriff said.
The Kampfs formerly owned the State Theater in Portland and are prominent businesspeople, Dion said. They live in an upscale neighborhood about eight miles from Portland. Dion said the only known contact they've had with police is when they called a few times to complain about speeders in their neighborhood.
That just sickens me.
19
I would not be surprised if the parents get probation and the daughter is admonished for not going for the abortion in the first place.
These people have no ethics or morals to start with, so I don't understand how you could even ask that question.
The entire practice of abortion is a study in the worst sort of mindless barbarism.
My humblest apologies! Please forgive me for my extreme stupidity! Geez! The woman is an adult. I still don't understand how they can make her have an abortion she doesn't want. Can you say "lawsuit"?
Oh well, that explains everything. Prominent upper middle class members of our society are always pro-life. Not.
They're from Maine.
Absolutely! But I meant a lawsuit against the abortion clinic. No question her parents should do hard time. I can't wait to hear the story behind this one!
Hmmmm.
I've no doubts, there are some grown women who can look back to the day they didn't abort their wonderful child, and because those "crazy" radicals were vigiling in front of the clinic. How many women to this day won't, in their heart, acknowledge to themselves, they were visited by an angel, you, that day.
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