PULLMAN, Wash. – A Pullman man accused of kidnapping his daughter and fleeing to Mexico pleaded not guilty and waived his detention hearing.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, a grand jury indicted James Aung on August 8. Aung appeared in federal court in Spokane, where he waived his detention hearing.
Aung’s father had been charged with conspiracy to commit international parental kidnapping. The documents also revealed that Aung and his father had exchanged text messages with Aung’s son, advising him on how to avoid being located by authorities.
Aung had been booked into jail on a charge of international parental kidnapping. He was found in Mexico with his fiancée and two-year-old daughter. Mexican authorities transported Aung and his daughter to the port of entry near Nogales, Arizona, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection took custody of both Aung and his daughter.
