Charges dropped against Perinton abduction suspects, attorney says

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(USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect) – A Monroe County grand jury declined to indict four men accused of kidnapping a woman and two children from a Perinton “safe house” earlier this month, according to an attorney for one of the men.

David Stern said all of the charges against his client, Omar Saleh, and three others ― Amar Saleh, Gamil Ahmed and Dajour Paul ― were dismissed May 20.

“Basically, they were exonerated,” he said. “It was presented and apparently there was not evidence of a kidnapping.”

What happened in Perinton Amber Alert abduction case?

The men were arrested in connection with a high-profile AMBER Alert May 9. Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home in Perinton for a reported abduction involving a mother and two children, ages 7 and 9. The call came from Child Protective Services (CPS), which indicated the trio had been taken by a family member and were in danger.

Investigators accused the men of “verbally demanding and physically forcing the victims into a vehicle,” with the intent of hiding the children until they could be sent to Yemen, where the family emigrated from more than 20 years ago.

Stern described the encounter as a rescue, rather than a kidnapping.

The family was taken to an Airbnb on April 30. A felony complaint said the house was arranged by the United States Department of State and CPS to provide “safe harbor” for the trio. Omar and Amar Saleh, however, were not given information about where their mother and siblings were moved to and why, Stern said. The brothers filed missing persons reports and tried to locate the family through the county attorney’s office to no avail.

On May 9, one of the children contacted Amar using a PlayStation 5 and asked the men to pick him up and bring the police, according to Stern. Video of the encounter shows the young boy sobbing while he jumps barefoot into Omar’s arms.

“That is the part that really is, you know, kind of galling about this,” Stern said. “Anybody could see plain as day, just looking at the doorbell camera footage, what had happened there. It was obviously not a situation that anybody could interpret as these children being in harm’s way.”

The family was found unharmed by police later that evening.

Attorney questions CPS involvement in Perinton abduction case

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said its first priority is public safety.

“We investigate cases based on the information, statements, and evidence available to us at the time to develop probable cause,” Deputy David Marcucci said in a statement. “We will always respect the constitution and trust the process.”

The Monroe County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment Wednesday.

Stern said questions remain about CPS’s involvement. The agency did not file a required Article 10 petition until May 11 ― more than a week after the family was apparently moved to the Airbnb on an emergency order, Stern said. Those proceedings are still ongoing and the children have been placed in foster care.

“We don’t understand why,” Stern said. “What is the reason that they need to be separated from their mother? That’s really what the bottom line is. Nobody can understand what the imminent danger is.”