Extortion Convictions of Mom Who Took Child to Russia Vacated

The extortion convictions against a mother who took her daughter to Russia, gave birth to a second daughter there, and then refused to let her ex-husband see his children until he paid support were vacated by the Tenth Circuit.

Bogdana Osipova left behind “ongoing divorce proceedings in Kansas” when she went to Russia, where she obtained full custody and a support order, the court said.

The government’s prosecution of Osipova under the extortionate interstate communications statute and the international parental kidnapping statute foundered on the definition of kidnapping, the opinion by Judge Gregory A. Phillips said.

The extortion statut ...