Kevin L. Smith of Missouri admitted to kidnapping his pregnant girlfriend at gunpoint from work in December 2022. Smith held a gun to the unidentified woman’s head and took her across state lines from Missouri into Illinois. The then 39-year-old Smith didn’t want to have a baby. He planned to force his girlfriend to have an abortion that day, but the quick-thinking woman saved herself. Smith, however, wasn’t saved and will spend the next 15 years in federal prison.
According to a news release from the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Illinois, Smith admitted to the kidnapping in court on October 1. As the pair traveled from St. Charles, Missouri, to Planned Parenthood in Fairview Heights, Illinois, Smith used a loaded firearm to intimidate his victim.
“It is not easy to shock law enforcement officials because we have pretty much seen it all — but then someone like Kevin Smith comes along,” US Attorney Steven Weinhoeft shared in the release. “It is difficult to find words adequate to describe someone who would kidnap his pregnant girlfriend to force her to have an abortion at gunpoint and then continue to threaten her from jail. This vile crime terrorized the victim and threatened the life of her unborn child. Smith deserves every minute of that prison sentence.”
In a December 2022 news release, the Fairview Heights Police Department reported the victim contacted a family member during the abduction and that person contacted police. Officers later found the couple inside the vehicle at Planned Parenthood at 317 Salem Place. Smith threw his gun out the window, but police arrested him on the spot. He did not injure the mother of his child, and she went on to give birth to her baby.
“This case represents a disturbing act of violence and abuse,” Steve Johnson, chief of the Fairview Heights Police Department, shared in the US attorney’s office’s release. “Kevin Smith kidnapped his girlfriend at gunpoint and drove her across state lines against her will in an attempt to make her obtain an abortion. His actions were those of a dangerous and manipulative individual. Our investigators worked tirelessly to bring the facts forward, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office ensured Smith was held accountable in federal court. This sentencing sends a clear message that acts of violence will not be tolerated in our community.”
A judge sentenced Smith to 188 months in federal prison, the release noted, based on him pleading guilty to one charge of kidnapping. Following his release, Smith will serve three years under supervised release.
Thankfully, Smith’s girlfriend got away from him, and authorities took her to safety. Smith apparently thought he was pretty darn smart, but we doubt his plan would have worked once they got to the clinic. This is a great example of “Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” This man’s going to be right where he belongs.
