A man accused of kidnapping his son from Alabama in 2002 and creating a life for them in Ohio under new identities is set for trial this spring.
A judge has scheduled Bobby Hernandez's trial April 18 in county court in Cleveland. His attorney requested an extra pretrial date to continue plea negotiations.
Prosecutors allege Hernandez took the then-5-year-old boy from his mother's home in the Birmingham area and built a life without the boy realizing he was on a national registry of missing children. The ruse fell apart when discrepancies with the teenager's Social Security number arose as he began the college application process.
Hernandez pleaded not guilty to charges including kidnapping and forgery.
A judge refused a request to let the jailed father have contact with his son.
The FBI alleges that Bobby— Julian's non-custodial parent —took the boy from his mother in Alabama when the child was 5 and the pair have lived in Cleveland as J.J. and Jonathan Mangina ever since. They were found at a home on West 17th Street in early November.
