Updated at 6:25 p.m.
A former Vermont woman, accused of kidnapping when she fled the country more than a decade ago, is now behind bars.
Lisa Miller had fled the United States in a child custody dispute with her former civil union partner, Janet Jenkins. After more than 10 years, Miller turned herself in to authorities in Nicaragua, and was listed Monday afternoon as an inmate at a federal detention center in Miami.
A federal judge in Florida ordered that she stay in jail until her case can be transferred to a federal court in the western district of New York, where the kidnapping charges were brought.
Authorities allege she crossed from New York State into Canada when she fled the country in 2009 with the child, Isabella, after custody was granted to Jenkins, her former civil union partner.
Isabella, now 18, is believed to be still in Nicaragua.
Sarah Star, Janet Jenkins’ family attorney in Vermont, said her client is relieved to learn of her daughter’s whereabouts, but is concerned that she’s still in Nicaragua.
“I just want Isabella to know that I love her very much and that I have never stopped loving her,” Jenkins said in a statement issued late Monday afternoon. “Isabella has a family and support system here who will always welcome her home with open arms.”
An attorney for Miller was not immediately available Monday afternoon.
A federal warrant had been issued for Miller’s arrest on charges of conspiracy and kidnapping. Related charges were also brought against others who had helped her flee and hide for years in Nicaragua, including an Amish Mennonite pastor. They have since been arrested and convicted.
The case, known as Miller-Jenkins v. Miller-Jenkins, attracted national headlines as one of the first legal cases highlighting the fate of children in relationships sanctioned in one state, but not in others.
Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins had moved from Virginia to Vermont to enter into a civil union in 2000, and they returned to Virginia, where they decided Lisa would conceive a child through artificial insemination.
The child, Isabella, was born in Virginia in April 2002 and the two women returned to Vermont. They later broke up and filed to dissolve their civil union. Miller moved back to Virginia and Jenkins has resided in Fair Haven, Vermont.
In 2004, Judge William Cohen, who has since been appointed to the Vermont Supreme Court, made a landmark decision in the civil union child custody dispute. Cohen’s ruling, for the first time in Vermont, granted legal parental rights to a person in a civil union, even though that person was not the biological or adoptive parent of a child.
In the custody dispute, Miller had brought child-abuse allegations against Jenkins. State authorities investigated those accusations, and determined they were unfounded.
Eventually, Cohen issued full custody to Jenkins when Miller repeatedly refused to abide by family court orders, including visitation. However, Jenkins obtained that custody just as Miller fled.
In addition to the criminal charges, Miller faces a civil lawsuit Jenkins filed against her and those who allegedly helped her flee the country.
Miller’s arrest came to light when Jenkins’ attorney asked a court Monday to issue a summons for Miller in connection with the civil suit, noting that she was in custody in Florida.
According to Jenkins’ filing, Miller “was returned to the United States and arrested in Miami” on Jan. 27, and made an initial appearance the next day in a federal court there. She was ordered held until she’s transferred to New York state on the criminal charges.
Since the split with Jenkins, Miller has said she “renounced her homosexuality” and was previously represented in the custody dispute by Liberty Counsel, a conservative legal group known for supporting anti-gay causes.
Jenkins is represented in her civil suit by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has designated Liberty Counsel as a hate group. Liberty Counsel is among the parties Jenkins is suing.
Scott McCoy, interim deputy legal director with the Southern Poverty Law Center, issued a statement late Monday afternoon about Miller’s arrest. “We expect that she will be prosecuted for kidnapping to the fullest extent of the law,” McCoy stated.
Frank Langrock, another Vermont lawyer involved in representing Jenkins, declined comment Monday, referring questions to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
LifeSiteNews, which describes itself as “The #1 pro-life news website,” started a petition earlier this year that it stated had more than 6,000 signatures urging President Donald Trump to pardon Miller and the others convicted in the case. Those pardons were not granted.
