Two men charged with taking girl to California

Two California men face felony charges after apparently taking a 12-year-old Evergreen girl to their home state Tuesday.

Edgard “Eddie” Le, 28, is charged with custodial interference while Dennis Nelson, 37, is charged with accountability to custodial interference.

They were apprehended Tuesday evening in Victorville, Calif., with Jasmine Walker. Walker had been reported missing that morning by her mother, April Hindahl.

The charge against Le was filed at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, even before his arrest.

He already had been identified as being involved through cell phone records and the phone signal was located in southern Utah and then Nevada as the threesome apparently raced to California from the Flathead Valley.

Nelson’s charges were filed at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Each of the men face up to 10 years in jail and a fine of up to $50,000.

Flathead County Deputy Attorney Alison Howard, who has been assigned to prosecute both cases, said the charges are based on current information. She said other charges may be filed depending on what law enforcement investigators discover.

“Other jurisdictions are currently handling the investigation,” Howard said. “I’m confident the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office is working with those offices and will contact us if they believe any other charges are necessary.”

Among the other agencies involved are the California Highway Patrol and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which both participated in the traffic stop that led to the arrests.

Hindahl was unhappy when she learned about the type of charges against Le and Nelson.

“I believe it should be a more serious charge,” she said. “We’ll see when the time comes if there are any more charges brought up. I hope that there are.”

She said Le’s behavior justifies additional or more serious charges.

“He knew how young she was and had several chances to let her go and drop her off somewhere and he never did,” Hindahl said. “I believe he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent.”

Howard and the Flathead County Attorney’s Office are limited by state law, however, which only allows for a charge of kidnapping when a person is held in isolation or held by using or threatening to use physical force.

A charge of custodial interference, listed under the same chapter as kidnapping, requires only that a person “takes, entices or withholds from lawful custody” someone for whom they have no legal custodial rights.

The potential penalty for a kidnapping conviction is the same as for a custodial interference conviction except that it includes a minimum sentence of two years.

The U.S. Department of Justice, however, has much more leeway under federal laws. The section of the U.S. Code relating to kidnapping is applicable to anyone who “unlawfully seizes, confines, inveigles, decoys, kidnaps, abducts, or carries away and holds for ransom or reward or otherwise any person.”

It further states that if two or more people convicted of kidnapping had conspired to commit the crime, they could be sentenced to any term up to life in prison.

Federal law also covers the transportation of people across state lines. Under the chapter on transportation for illegal sexual activity and related crimes, it states that anyone convicted of knowingly convincing or coercing someone to cross state lines to engage in any sexual activity for which they could be charged with a criminal offense can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Additionally, anyone convicted under that chapter with a person of under 18 years of age faces a minimum sentence of 10 years in jail and a maximum sentence of life.

Whether or not those charges apply, or even whether any federal charges will be brought against Le or Nelson, is yet unknown.

“Federal charges require a grand jury indictment and that sort of thing,” Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry said. “It doesn’t happen in the first day or two.”

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.