HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A former Madison County resident charged with international parental kidnapping was arraigned today in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Felix Rivera-Esparra.
Igor Slobodskyi, 51, a non-U.S. Citizen, formerly of Huntsville, was extradited from Germany to the United States to answer federal charges of international parental kidnapping. U.S. Magistrate Judge Herman N. Johnson, Jr. arraigned Slobodskyi on a one-count indictment charging him with removing two children under the age of 16 years old from the United States and retaining those children outside the United States with the intent to obstruct the lawful exercise of another’s parental rights.
The maximum penalty for international parental kidnapping is three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
The FBI investigated the case, along with the Huntsville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White is prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Germany to secure the arrest and extradition of Slobodskyi to the United States.
An indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.