NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Lewisburg woman was sentenced for international parental kidnapping Monday.

According to the United States Attorney's Office Middle District of Tennessee, 38-year-old Kate Carson was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. Court documents show Carson and her child's father were involved in custody litigation during the summer of 2023. The child was 9 years old at the time, and Carson requested a parental relocation to Portugal.

In July 2023, a family law judge allowed Carson to travel to Portugal with the child, but she did not return as ordered. Authorities said she wrote a letter to the judge saying she had no plans to return to the United States.

Officials said the child's father then began pressing his rights in The Hauge international tribunal, and Carson fled to Indonesia with the child. Indonesia does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Court documents show Carson tried to pay the child's father for him to stop pursuing custody and his cooperation with law enforcement.

Carson was federally indicted in Oct. 2024 by a Nashville grand jury for international parental kidnapping as she had become a fugitive from justice, according to officials.

Authorities said Indonesian immigration officials looked to expel Carson from Indonesia and asked her to leave voluntarily. She did not comply and was later detained by Indonesian immigration authorities.

Court documents show Carson escaped a detention facility in Indonesia and fled from one Indonesian island to another with the child and other family members. Indonesian immigration officials later apprehended her and expelled her from the country.

FBI agents accompanied Carson from the airport in Indonesia to the United States where she was arrested upon arrival, according to officials.

Authorities said Carson pleaded guilty to one count of international parental kidnapping. Her 18-month federal prison sentence will be followed by a year of supervised release.

A federal judge also has "prohibited contact with [the child] absent Carson showing that visitation has been granted by a family court with jurisdiction over her and [the child]," officials said.

Authorities said the child has been reunited with his father and is being provided counseling.

The FBI Nashville Field Office investigated the case, and Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire prosecuted the case.

“Protecting vulnerable children from harm is the highest priority of our office,” McGuire said. “Kate Carson kidnapped her young son in full defiance of family court orders because she thought she knew better. She is now being held accountable for her crime and will face the consequences of her decisions.”

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/fbi-lewisburg-woman-kidnapping-sentencing/