A mother has been reunited with her son 31 years after he was kidnapped by his father.
Jermaine Allan Mann was abducted by his father, Allan Mann Jr., when he was 2 years old. His mother, Lyneth Mann-Lewis, had dropped him off for a visit in 1987, reports The Hartford Currant. Allan took the boy from Toronto, Canada, to the United States, where they lived under assumed names. Allan and Jermaine lived in the Bronx and North Carolina before settling in Connecticut.
Investigators in both countries continued to search for Jermaine, but leads were scant until a U.S. Marshal contacted some of Allan’s relatives.
Allan was also caught using fake documents to apply for Section 8 housing. He was arrested on Friday and charged with making false statements in applications to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. So far, he has not been charged for the abduction. He will remain in U.S. custody until November 9, the date of his probable-cause hearing, unless he is indicted or Canadian authorities request an extradition.
U.S. Attorney John Durham applauded law enforcement for solving the case.
“After taking his son away from his son’s mother, this defendant is alleged to have lived a lie for the last 31 years in violation of numerous U.S. laws," Durham said. “We thank the many law enforcement agencies, in the U.S. and Canada, that have investigated this matter, worked hard to apprehend this fugitive and finally provided some answers to a mother who has suffered with her son’s absence for far too long.”
Jermaine, now 33, attended his father’s court hearing and was seen sobbing during the proceedings.
Last weekend, Jermaine saw his mother for the first time in three decades. He grew up thinking she was dead.
"Words couldn't express what I felt.The words 'Your son is alive, we found him' – that is breathtaking,” she told the BBC. "I wanted to see if he was real. I said, 'Oh my God, my baby.'”
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