The man who kidnapped his son from Alabama, brought him to Cleveland and hid them under false identities for 13 years will spend four years behind bars.
Prosecutor: "Bobby Hernandez lived a life of lies for 13 years." pic.twitter.com/OuwGBIGNxh
— Megan Hickey (@hickey_megan) April 13, 2016
Hernandez' son pleads with judge not to send father to jail "he's raised me well, he's pushed me far in school" pic.twitter.com/5iWMOSaexm
— Megan Hickey (@hickey_megan) April 13, 2016
Allred reads statement from mother: "I lost my sweet little boy. It was the worst day of my life." pic.twitter.com/tft8bXPSZq
— Megan Hickey (@hickey_megan) April 13, 2016
Bobby Hernandez was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison. He pleaded guilty last month to two counts of kidnapping, 10 counts of tampering with records, two counts of interference with custody, and one count of forgery. All 14 counts, except forgery, were felonies.
Hernandez faced up to 54 years in prison.
In court Wednesday, Hernandez's son asked the judge to spare his father jail time.
"I can't imagine going on in my life without his support," Julian said. "Even if other people can't, I forgive him for what he's done."
Attorney Gloria Allred read a statement on behalf of Julian's mother. "I lost my sweet little boy. It was the worst day of my life," the statement read, in part. "We will never get back the 13 years that were stolen from us."
McGinty said Hernandez and his former girlfriend were ending their relationship in August of 2002 when he and their son disappeared. Police reports indicated Hernandez had told the boy's mother that if she ever broke up with him, she'd never see her son again.
"This man is a con man," McGinty told newsnet5.com, explaining that Hernandez allegedly faked a prostate cancer diagnosis to garner sympathy from Julian's mother.
Hernandez' attorney Ralph DeFranco said it was a relationship that went sour.
"They didn’t get along and things like this happen," DeFranco said. "They weren’t married and there were custody issues."
Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams noted in the sentencing that at the time of the kidnapping, neither parent had full custoy of the five-year-old and that Julian's testimony in court Wednesday weighed heavily on her decision.
Hernandez brought the boy to Cleveland where Hernandez created false identities for himself and his son, McGinty's office said. Hernandez was going by the name 'Jonathan Mangina.'
Cleveland police arrested Hernandez on November 2, 2015, after the FBI received a tip that he and his missing son were living in Cleveland.
Hernandez attorney told newsnet5.com that Julian Hernandez' college application process revealed an issue with his social security number. A school counselor then helped to locate the boy on the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's website.
