Illinois Couple Indicted for Kidnapping and Transportation of a Minor With Intent to Engage in Sexual Activity
Nicole Eason, 37, and Calvin Eason, 46, formerly of Danville and Westville, Illinois, were charged in an indictment unsealed today with two counts of kidnapping of a minor and one count of transportation of a minor. They were previously charged by a criminal complaint and arrested on April 3, 2015, in Tucson, Arizona. The couple has remained in custody since their arrest.
According to allegations in the criminal complaint, Nicole and Calvin Eason participated in an online adoption discussion board in 2006 and 2007, and sought to adopt a child through a process sometimes referred to as private “re-homing.” This practice is often associated with “disrupted” or failed adoptions, when an adoptive family places their child in another home because the adoptive family can no longer care for the child.
According to the complaint, the Easons communicated with a minor’s parents and allegedly misrepresented material facts about their background to gain the parents’ trust. The Easons also allegedly lied about having a home study “waiver,” which the parents believed was needed to transfer custody of their child. Based on the Easons’ false misrepresentations, the parents transported their child across state lines in 2007. Both Nicole and Calvin Eason allegedly sexually abused the child while he/she was in their custody.
The indictment further alleges that Nicole and Calvin Eason kidnapped a second minor in the same manner in 2008. The Easons allegedly transported the second minor across state lines.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking
The story of an Arkansas politician who gave away his adopted child, and the tragedy that followed