Man kidnaps woman again, ties her to car’s gear shift and drives out of state, feds say
A man was found guilty of federal charges after prosecutors say he kidnapped a woman from Massachusetts in his car, tied her to the gear shift and drove to Maine.
Before she escaped, he told her they were headed to Canada “where she would die,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine.
Stephen Pilson, 56, kidnapped the woman in December 2019, three days after he was released from jail in relation to previously kidnapping her in Massachusetts, court documents say.
The day of Pilson’s release, a Waltham District Court judge sentenced him to time served and probation — and issued a protective order that prevented him from contacting the woman, who he had a prior relationship with, according to the attorney’s office.
However, he repeatedly contacted her, then kidnapped the woman again on Dec. 15, 2019, court documents say.
After a three-day trial, a federal jury found Pilson, of Brighton, guilty on charges of kidnapping and transporting the woman to Maine and interstate violation of a protection order, the attorney’s office announced in a Dec. 21 news release.
McClatchy News contacted Pilson’s court-appointed defense counsel, Grainne Dunne and Michael Whipple, for comment on Dec. 22 and didn’t receive immediate responses.
The woman’s escape
The day of the kidnapping, Maine State Police received several 911 calls about a woman who exited a vehicle on the side of I-95 and that a man was following her, according to an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint.
Then, a 911 call came in from the woman, who said through sobs and screams that “he’s coming after me ... he’s on parole … I’m afraid he’s going to come and get me … he started tying me up,” the affidavit says. This was in reference to Pilson.
An investigation revealed that earlier in the day, Pilson kidnapped the woman from Massachusetts in his car and used her scarf to tie her to the gear shift, according to prosecutors.
When she first tried to escape, he hit her, prosecutors say.
During the drive, Pilson drank from a “large bottle of vodka and became very intoxicated,” according to the affidavit, which describes him driving “erratically,” nearly crashing into other vehicles.
Eventually, the woman grabbed the car key and broke it off the ignition — resulting in Pilson pulling over near Arundel, about 90 miles northeast of Boston, according to prosecutors.
This allowed her to escape and she fled on the highway as Pilson followed her, prosecutors say.
Pilson stopped pursuing her and ran into the woods before state troopers tracked him down with a K-9, according to prosecutors.
On Dec. 21, Chief Judge Jon D. Levy denied Pilson’s motion for an acquittal on the federal charges he’s been convicted of, court records show.
He’s facing up to life in federal prison and a $250,000 fine, prosecutors say.
Brighton is a neighborhood in Boston.
This story was originally published December 22, 2023 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Man kidnaps woman again, ties her to car’s gear shift and drives out of state, feds say."
.jpg)