STAFF REPORTS
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BUFFALO — Forty-year-old Timothy Miller of Managua, Nicaragua, who was convicted of conspiracy to commit international parental kidnapping, was sentenced to time served (eight months) by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael DiGiacomo and Paul Van de Graff, who handled the case, stated that in 2009, the defendant conspired with co-defendants Kenneth Miller and Lisa Miller to assist Lisa Miller and her daughter in fleeing the United States to Nicaragua. Lisa Miller fled the country in order to prevent her partner Janet Jenkins from visiting her daughter. The two women both had parental rights with the child.
Timothy Miller purchased a one-way plane ticket for Lisa Miller and her daughter to travel from Toronto, Ontario to Nicaragua. Upon their arrival in Nicaragua, Timothy Miller assisted Lisa Miller and her daughter with shelter and financial assistance.
Kenneth Miller was convicted and sentenced. Charges are pending against Lisa Miller whose current whereabouts, and that of her daughter, is unknown. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. In a related prosecution, Philip Zhodiates was convicted of international parental kidnapping and conspiracy to commit international parental kidnapping, and was sentenced to 36 months in prison.
