Three Head to Federal Prison for Kidnapping Children

kidnapping two children from their Corpus Christi home, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Georgia Michelle Gregg, 31, pleaded guilty July 6, 2016, while her sister - Jada Nicole Gregg-Warren, 32 - and her sister’s boyfriend - Ivan Francisco Alvarez-Benavente, 27, pleaded guilty June 30, 2016.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head sentenced Gregg-Warren to 120 months immediately followed by five years of supervised release. She also received a 12-month sentence on a bond revocation from a previous conviction of possession with the intent to distribute heroin. Gregg was sentenced to 108 months followed by three years of supervised release, while Alvarez-Benavente was ordered to serve 57 months. He is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.

Gregg and Gregg-Warren kidnapped the young children, ages five and four, from their residence on the night of Aug. 19, 2015. After the kidnapping, the two women travelled to McAllen with the children. Alvarez-Benavente followed them in a separate vehicle.

The Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) immediately disseminated an Amber Alert in pursuit of all three adults and the two children. As part of the alert, a Child Abduction Response Team was deployed with the assistance of the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS).

Authorities learned that Gregg returned to Corpus Christi while the couple and the children entered Mexico and stayed at a residence close to the Alvarez-Benavente family. Through a collaborative effort between the U.S. and Mexican authorities, the couple and the children were brought to the U.S. on Dec. 16, 2015, at which time Gregg-Warren and Alvarez-Benavente were arrested.  

All three have been and will remain in custody pending their transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges are the result of the investigative efforts of the FBI, CCPD and the USMS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez is prosecuting the case.