Man admits to parental kidnapping, tried to take kids from Lexington to China
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Hao Qiu pleaded guilty to one count of international parental kidnapping in federal court.
- Qiu was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison on May 15, 2026.
- Qiu was ordered to pay $12,370 in restitution as part of his sentence.
A Chinese man was sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison after admitting to kidnapping his children with the intent of traveling to Beijing, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Kentucky.
Hao Qiu, 39, was sentenced Friday, May 15, after pleading guilty to one count of international parental kidnapping. Two additional counts of international parental kidnapping were dropped in the plea deal, which was agreed upon Feb. 11, according to court documents.
Qiu, who is a lawful citizen in the United States, has three children with a U.S. citizen — the children’s mother — from Fayette County, according to the attorney’s office. In April 2024, Qiu and the children’s mother reached a family court agreement that gave the mother custody of the children, and Qiu was only allowed to visit his children in Fayette County unless an exception was made, according to court documents.
In early summer 2025, Qiu and the mother agreed to plans for Qiu to take the children on a trip to Disney World, in Orlando, Florida. But prosecutors say Qiu really planned to take the children to Beijing, China, and had even obtained duplicate Chinese passports for the children without the mother knowing.
Qiu picked up the children in July 2025 and drove to California. Court documents say he crossed the U.S. border into Mexico and then flew the children to Panama City, Panama.
The mother was concerned that Qiu would try to take the children outside the U.S., and sent them with cell phones and air tag trackers, but Qiu took all the devices from the children, according to court documents.
Prosecutors said Panamanian authorities detained Qiu as he and the children were boarding a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. Before the trip, the children’s mother entered the children’s identifying information in an international anti-abduction program through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Panamanian authorities flagged Qiu before the flight to Turkey took off, according to court documents.
As part of sentencing, Qiu is also ordered to pay $12,370 in restitution, according to court documents.
