A North Chicago woman was charged with child abduction for fleeing to Texas with four children after a judge suspended her parental custody rights, prosecutors said.
Akasha D. Jackson, 30, of North Chicago, was charged with four counts of child abduction, a Class 4 felony.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Manuel Mandujano said Jackson and her husband are in the process of getting divorced and have four children.
A judge granted the father as the custodial parent of all of the children on April 12.
Jackson was ordered to bring the children to North Chicago Police Department on that day by 12:30 p.m., Mandujano said.
Jackson did not bring the children to the police station and she was granted an extension to 3:30 p.m. to comply with the court order.
Jackson continued to fail to show up at the police station, Mandujano said.
The judge held Jackson in direct civil contempt for keeping the children and an order was issued suspending Jackson’s parenting time.
An officer spoke to Jackson on the phone and Jackson said she did not care about the court order and would be keeping the children with her, Mandujano said.
Jackson allegedly refused to provide her location and officers pinged the woman’s phone to Plano, Texas.
Jackson’s vehicle was also detected on a police license plate camera in Texas, Mandujano said.
Renea Amen, Jackson’s attorney, said her client was in a shelter, which had a time limit of four days, leading her to have to go home to Texas to her family.
Amen said that Jackson does not have any criminal history and the case is a family court matter.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak allowed Jackson to be released on a personal recognizance bond after attorneys confirmed the children were back in the custody of their father.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 25.