Press Release
Indiana Man Indicted on Federal Kidnapping Charge for Allegedly Abducting a Child in Calumet City
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois
CHICAGO — An Indiana man has been indicted on a federal kidnapping charge for allegedly abducting a child from a Calumet City street in broad daylight last month.
On Dec. 20, 2017, at approximately 3:30 p.m., BRYAN PROTHO grabbed the child as she walked on the sidewalk near 153rd Street and Burnham Avenue in Calumet City, according to an indictment returned Thursday and a criminal complaint previously filed in the case. Protho forced the minor into his red Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle and drove away, the complaint states. He then parked the vehicle in an alley and assaulted the child, the complaint states. The victim was able to escape and flag down a passing vehicle, and law enforcement was contacted.
Protho, 38, of East Chicago, Ind., was arrested on Dec. 27, 2017, and he remains in federal custody. The indictment charges him with one count of kidnapping. Arraignment is set for Feb. 20, 2018, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Charles P. Kocoras.
The indictment was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Jeffrey S. Sallet, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Christopher Fletcher, Chief of the Calumet City Police Department; and Dennis Murrin, Jr., Chief of the Lansing Police Department. The FBI and the local departments jointly investigated the case.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The kidnapping charge is punishable by a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher V. Parente.
Updated January 26, 2018
Topic
Violent Crime
Component