Race a factor in kidnap case, sheriff says

SALEM, N.H. -- A Maine couple are accused of abducting their daughter and attempting to force her to get an abortion in New York after learning the father is black, their hometown sheriff said yesterday.

Sheriff Mark Dion of Cumberland County, Maine, where the alleged kidnapping occurred, said 19-year-old Katelyn Kampf, who is white, told him yesterday that her parents were upset about the interracial relationship.

``She clearly is still traumatized by the event," Dion said. ``It is difficult for her to appreciate that her parents did what they did, although it's not a surprise to her, based on other events that have occurred in the household."

Investigators also want to talk to any doctors in New England who might have had contact with the family, the sheriff said. Dion, who interviewed Katelyn Kampf yesterday, said the parents might have thought New York law allowed later-term abortions. He would not say how far along in her pregnancy she is, but police say she is visibly pregnant.

Nicholas Kampf, 54, and Lola Kampf, 53, were arrested Friday in Salem after Katelyn told police she escaped after she was accosted at her parent's home in North Yarmouth, Maine, tied up with rope, gagged with duct tape, and driven into New Hampshire in the family Lexus. They were charged with felony false imprisonment.

At the arraignment of the Kampfs yesterday in Salem District Court, their lawyer said no kidnapping occurred on New Hampshire soil, though he said he could not speak to what occurred in Maine.

``All these allegations are being taken out of proportion," said lawyer Mark Sisti. He said the couple cares deeply for their daughter, adding that ``it was a terrible family misunderstanding."

Prosecutor Ryan MacFarland disagreed. ``Both individuals threatened to kill [Katelyn], the unborn child, and the family of the unborn child's father," he said.

MacFarland asked the judge to set a bail at $500,000 for each parent, saying that the Kampfs might be a flight risk, given that passports and maps were found in the car, along with rope, duct tape, and a .22-caliber rifle.

Sisti said his clients, who are well-known developers, have deep ties in the community and would not flee. He said that under New Hampshire law, it is not illegal to have rope, duct tape, or a gun in a car, as long as the weapon is not concealed.

A judge kept bail at $100,000 each, but ordered the Kampfs to give up their passports and stay in Maine and New Hampshire. He also ordered them to stay away from their daughter and her boyfriend's family. The next court date is planned for Sept. 26.

The case started when Katelyn, who had dropped out of Boston College, told her parents about the baby last week, ``at which point they became infuriated and insisted that she needed to get an abortion," a police affidavit said.

Later ``the parents chased her out into the yard, grabbed, and tied her feet and hands together," before ``her father then carried her to their car at which point the three of them began heading" toward New Hampshire.

The baby's father is Remé Johnson, 22, of Portland, Maine, police said. Johnson is serving a six-month prison sentence for possession of a stolen weapon, Maine authorities said. Katelyn Kampf is living with Johnson's mother, Peggy, at their Portland home.

``She's living with me now," Peggy Johnson said in a telephone interview. ``Katelyn is not lying. She has no reason to lie. They found all the stuff in the car. She would not have gone with them."

Johnson said she has met the Kampfs and would be surprised if they are upset that Katelyn's boyfriend is black. ``It's not about Remé being black," she said. ``I don't know what happened. Maybe they just snapped."

Adrienne P. Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com.