A Massachusetts man was sentenced in federal court in Portland on Thursday to 13 years in prison for kidnapping a woman and bringing her to Maine.
A federal judge sentenced Stephen Pilson, 56, of Brighton, Massachusetts, to 156-months (13-years) in prison for kidnapping and 50 months (four years, two months) for interstate violation of a protective order, with the sentences to be served concurrently, followed by four years of supervised release.
A federal jury found Pilson guilty on December 21, 2023, after a three-day trial.
On December 15, 2019, Pilson drove the victim, with whom he had a relationship, from Massachusetts to Maine against her will, according to trial evidence cited by the U.S. Department of Justice in a news release.
Three days earlier, Pilson had pleaded guilty to five charges, including kidnapping the same woman. He was sentenced to time served and probation, but a no-contact order was imposed, barring him from contacting the victim, who he would go on to kidnap again.
During the trip, Pilson drank heavily, tied the woman to the vehicle’s gear shift, and told her they were going to Canada where she would die, according to the DOJ. On Interstate 95 near the York County town of Arundel, the woman tried to open the door while the car was moving at high speed, and when Pilson pulled over, she tried to remove the vehicle’s key but broke it off in the ignition before fleeing along the highway with Pilson chasing her.
Maine State Police got 911 calls from at least five concerned drivers, and troopers later found Pilson in the woods with the help of a police dog.
