Portland, Maine – The parents of a pregnant 19-year-old pleaded not guilty Monday to kidnapping, assault and terrorizing in what prosecutors say was an attempt to force her to have an abortion.
Nicholas and Lola Kampf are accused of tying up their daughter Katelyn, forcing her into their car and heading toward New York for an abortion. They were arrested Sept. 15 at a shopping center in Salem, N.H., after Katelyn fled and called police on a cellphone.
The Kampfs could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted of kidnapping. They have been free on $100,000 bail each since being charged in Cumberland County Superior Court.
The defense contends that there was no kidnapping and that the case is far different from how it has been portrayed.
Thomas Hallett, the parents’ lawyer, said the parents learned the day before their arrest that their daughter was pregnant. They had packed their car for a trip to Florida, but their plans changed because of the pregnancy, he said. What the family needs is therapy, not a criminal prosecution, he said.
Katelyn Kampf’s lawyer, Sarah Churchill, declined to comment on her client’s condition but told reporters a protection order against the young woman’s parents was no longer in effect. “We decided to just lift it because, frankly, the bail conditions cover everything that the protection order covered,” she said.
“Katelyn felt a crime was committed, she reported it to police and now the process has taken hold and ultimately that case will have to be resolved in this courthouse,” Churchill said.
