Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

BOSTON -- The man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller has been indicted on kidnapping charges for the alleged snatching of his 7-year-old daughter from a Boston street during a supervised visit in July.

Investigators say Rockefeller is really Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter, a German citizen who has been living under aliases since coming to Connecticut in 1978. Authorities have identified him as a "person of interest" in the 1985 disappearance of a California couple, Jonathan and Linda Sohus.

Gerhartsreiter was arrested last month in Baltimore, where authorities said he fled with his daughter, hoping to start a new life after losing custody to his ex-wife. The girl was unharmed.

He was indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury Friday on charges of parental kidnapping, assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, a motor vehicle, and giving a false name to police.

The indictment moves the case from Boston Municipal Court to Suffolk Superior Court, where the trial will be held. Rockefeller will be arraigned on the charges Monday.

His lawyer, Stephen Hrones, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley, said the parental kidnapping charge carries a 5-year prison term.

"The defendant crossed state lines with a minor. That the victim is his daughter makes no difference in the eyes of the law. He carried her across state lines without her legal guardian's permission," Wark said.

-- The Associated Press

 Tags  Boston Clark Rockefeller

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