YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — A Massillon man who abducted a 5-year-old girl from a Stark County store more than a year ago will spend the next 30 years in federal prison.
Judge Benita Y. Pearson handed down the sentence for Jonathan Stinnett, 37, Thursday in U.S. District Court. Stinnett had previously pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and possession of child pornography.
Back on Nov. 11, 2021, Stinnett was with his girlfriend at the Jackson Township Goodwill while the latter was babysitting the child when Stinnett suddenly took the minor and fled with her in his Ford Aerostar van. The incident triggered an Amber Alert as Stinnett disabled his cellphone, and police subsequently tracked the pair across multiple states.
More than 24 hours later, authorities in McLean County, Illinois, received a report of a "suspicious vehicle" parked on the side of a road, and sheriff's deputies found both Stinnett and the child sleeping inside. Stinnett was immediately arrested, while the girl was checked by doctors before being safely returned to her family.
Prosecutors say Stinnett admitted to taking the child without her mother's consent and had even purchased camping equipment for them prior to kidnapping her. In addition, investigators found roughly 229 images of child pornography on Stinnett's electronic devices.
"Thanks to quick work of law enforcement and a vigilant community, an innocent child was reunited with their family and spared from an unknown fate," Michelle M. Baeppler, first assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said last year after Stinnett pleaded guilty. "Nothing unites all of us in this region more than working to protect and ensure the safety of our children."
Some members of law enforcement received criticism in the immediate aftermath of the kidnapping, as an Amber Alert wasn't issued until the day after Stinnett took the child. Jackson Township Police Major Jim Monigold subsequently told reporters that call rests with the Ohio State Highway Patrol Watch Desk, and OHSP Lieutenant Nathan Dennis told 3News' Lydia Esparra that the case initially didn't meet certain parameters such as "a credible threat of immediate danger or serious bodily harm or death to the child." State authorities initially sent out a notice for a missing and endangered child before ultimately upgrading it to an Amber Alert.
Stinnett has been held on bond since his arrest. Once he is released from prison, he will be on probation for the rest of his life.