NEW YORK--An Arizona couple who used an underground online market for acquiring children has been charged with kidnapping two minors and transporting one across state lines with intent to engage in sexual activity.
The suspects, Nicole and Calvin Eason, came to authorities' attention as a result of "The Child Exchange," a Reuters series in 2013 that exposed how Americans were using Yahoo message boards, Facebook groups and other online sites to "re-home" unwanted children.
The stories showed how parents were privately transferring custody of their adopted children to strangers met on the Internet. The Easons had taken at least six boys and girls in this manner while lying about their identities, the series showed. Nicole Eason's own two biological children had been permanently removed from her care earlier, police reports showed, after social workers concluded she had neglected one child and physically abused the other.
Following the series, the Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation of the children re-homed to the Easons. In April, the Easons were arrested in Arizona and taken into federal custody on felony charges filed in Illinois. A federal grand jury in Illinois indicted the couple on the charges Wednesday.
Calvin Eason's attorney declined to comment. Nicole Eason's attorney could not be reached.
REUTERS
