An Idaho woman and her 18-year-old son have been charged with second-degree kidnapping for taking a teen girl he is accused of raping across state lines for an abortion.
Rachel Swainston, 42, and Kadyn Leo Swainston, 18, of Pocatello, allegedly drove the 15-year-old girl to Bend, Oregon, in May for an abortion, the Idaho State Journal reported, citing the results of a months-long investigation by police in Pocatello.
The probe was launched in June when the teen girl’s mother told authorities that her daughter had been raped and transported to Oregon for the abortion without the mother’s permission, the outlet reported.
The girl told police during an interview in August that had been involved in a consensual sexual relationship with Kadyn when he was 17 that continued after he turned 18. They lived together in the Swainstons’ home.
She said she had found out that she was pregnant soon after Kadyn turned 18, remarking that she was “happy” about it.
But Kadyn was not, she said, and demanded that she get an abortion.
Rachel Swainston took the girl and her son to Bend, Oregon, in a rental car on May 18 when an abortion was performed, according to court documents cited by the State Journal.
The girl provided police with a copy of the medical paperwork, and police obtained phone records for the Swainstons that showed they had been in Oregon on that date.
She also allowed investigators to access her cell phone where they found a video and photos of her and Kadyn engaging in sex acts.
Police searched the home the girl and Kadyn shared, and he admitted to having sex with her after his 18th birthday and that his mother took the teen to Oregon for an abortion.
Police also found 40 grams of meth in the mom’s room.
Kadyn was charged with rape, second-degree kidnapping and three counts of producing child sexually exploitative material, all felonies, court records show, the Idaho State Journal reported.
His mother was charged with second-degree kidnapping, trafficking in methamphetamine, two counts of possession of a controlled substance and one count of harboring a wanted felon.
The Swainstons were not charged, however, under Idaho’s controversial “abortion trafficking” law signed by Gov. Brad Little in April that bans adults from helping minors cross state lines for an abortion without the parents’ consent.
Offenders face a prison sentence of up to five years.
The trafficking law is being challenged by abortion advocacy and civil rights groups who say the law is unconstitutional and violates a person’s Fourth Amendment right to travel freely between states.
Idaho has one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation, banning the procedure in almost all cases except rape and incest.
But abortion remains legal in Oregon and Washington, Idaho’s western neighbors.
Both mothers and both teens showed poor judgement. Still, I hope the boy and his mother get some prison time. Like at least 20 years. Abortion should only be used in extremely rare circumstances and even then only for medical necessity, not to avoid responsibility. The boy and his mother violated the girl’s rights.
” … 40 grams of meth in the mom’s room …”
Lies! That woman looks like Mother of the Year 😏
Not all mothers are created equal. This is a real horror story. I’m sorry for the girl and her baby. It almost seems that sex is the new hand shake to the younger generation. I doubt if this 18 year old will ever reproduce again, not when any girl or woman hears his story.
Why would this mother allow her 15 year old daughter to live with her boyfriend? The majority of us as parents would have said absolutely not. Of course she would end up pregnant. This other mother is a complete loser and definitely a gene pool we could do without.
The girl’s mother probably wanted her out of the was so SHE could go out and have a good time.