Mother Charged in Abduction of Twins

A former Simi Valley woman who allegedly abducted her twin sons and spent more than a year on the run has been captured and charged with felony child abduction, authorities said Friday.

Dietricha Sweeney, 37, pleaded not guilty Thursday to two counts of felony child abduction and was jailed on $100,000 bail. A preliminary hearing will be Jan. 27.

Sweeney allegedly abducted her then 4-year-old sons in October 1998, according to officials. The boys were visiting her Simi Valley home, said Vinse Gilliam, deputy chief investigator in the district attorney’s office.

At the time, Sweeney and her husband, Todd Sweeney, were separated and sharing custody of the kids. Todd Sweeney was seeking sole custody and there had been indications that a judge intended to grant that request, Gilliam added.

“She was supposed to return the kids to the other parent and she didn’t,” Gilliam said.

Todd Sweeney reported the case to police, who investigated leads throughout the country, Canada and Mexico before a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to Salt Lake City last March.

A citizen had contacted the national center with information after seeing Sweeney’s picture on the center’s Web site, Gilliam said.

Sweeney was arrested March 4, 1999, in Salt Lake City. Authorities said she had changed her name and the names of her sons and also altered the physical appearance of the boys. It is unclear how she changed the boys’ looks.

The twins have since been returned to their father, who resides in Simi Valley. Dietricha Sweeney fought extradition for several months before agreeing to return to Ventura County last Wednesday.

If convicted, she could face up to three years in prison.