Jury Finds Man Guilty Of Parental Kidnapping
LUDINGTON (WWJ/AP) - A western Michigan man who authorities say took his two young children to Florida last year without their mother's permission has been found guilty of parental kidnapping.
A Mason County Circuit Court jury returned the verdict Friday against Mark McCallum. He was found guilty on both charges of parental kidnapping -- one for each of his two children who he took to Florida while going through a divorce.
Prosecutors say McCallum failed to drop off the then-4- and 2-year-old children with their mother in February 2012. They later were found safe in Key West, Fla.
McCallum defended himself during the weeklong trial, claiming he was trying to protect his children from alleged abuse at the hands of their mother -- something prosecutors say he lacked the evidence to prove. He's due back in court for sentencing on April 2.
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