Kidnap charges lodged in Maine, dropped in N.H.

PORTLAND – Prosecutors announced Monday they have lodged kidnapping charges in Maine against a North Yarmouth couple accused of kidnapping their pregnant 19-year-old daughter with the intention of having her get an abortion.

Nicholas Kampf, 54, and Lola Kampf, 53, face up to 30 years each in prison on the charges, but Cumberland County District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said she won’t seek anywhere near the maximum sentence.

With charges filed in Maine, New Hampshire authorities have agreed to drop kidnapping charges against the Kampfs in their state, Anderson said.

The complaints against the Kampfs were filed in Cumberland County Superior Court on Thursday, but were impounded until Monday so the Kampfs could arrange to turn themselves in. The affidavit has also been impounded.

The Kampfs are accused of tying up their daughter, Katelyn, on Sept. 15, throwing her in their car and driving toward New York, where they hoped to get her an abortion.

Katelyn escaped at a shopping center in Salem, N.H., and called police on a cell phone. Her parents were charged with kidnapping and jailed in New Hampshire for several days before posting bail of $100,000 each last week.

Anderson said she believes the couple might have been motivated by concern about Katelyn’s boyfriend, whom Katelyn said impregnated her.

Reme Johnson, 22, has a criminal record and is now serving a six-month sentence in the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn for theft.

“I think the parents were concerned that he had a criminal record and that he was serving a criminal jail sentence,” Anderson said. “I think that motivated their desire to unentangle their daughter from a lifelong relationship with this man.”

The Kampfs, who are real estate developers, surrendered to authorities at the Cumberland County Jail, where they were arrested and booked.

Under their bail conditions, the Kampfs are prohibited from having contact with their daughter or leaving Maine. They were also ordered to surrender their passports.

An initial court appearance has been scheduled for Oct. 23 in Cumberland County Superior Court.