Cleveland Man Pleads Guilty to Kidnapping his own Son

A Cleveland man pleaded guilty Monday to 15 charges, including kidnapping his own son 14 years ago.

After a fallout with his wife in Alabama, Bobby Hernandez created a false identity for him and his son and started a new life for the two in Cleveland, reported cleveland.com. His son, Julian Hernandez, was five at the time.

After 14 years, Julian finally figured out his identity had been tampered with while applying to college. The FBI received a tip about his father in October, who was arrested in November.

Now his father Bobby faces up to 54 years in prison, and is due back in court for sentencing on April 13.

In exchange for a guilty plea to 15 charges, including tampering with records, forgery and kidnapping, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said that it would drop 17 other charges.

"Mr. Hernandez selfishly deprived this child of his mother, and the mother her child," Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy J. McGinty said in a news release. "They lost any chance to bond, nurture and enjoy the benefits of this vital relationship. This indictment should send a strong message to anyone considering stealing their child."

Ralph DeFranco, the attorney representing Bobby Hernandez, argued that he had been a “perfect father” to the boy and has a negligible criminal record. DeFranco said that he hopes the judge will be lenient and sentence Hernandez to probation.

Photo courtesy of Cuyahoga County Office of the Prosecutor.