HARTFORD, Conn. — A man accused of kidnapping his toddler son in Canada in 1987 and living on the lam in the U.S. for three decades appeared in a Toronto courtroom for the first time Thursday to face an abduction charge.
Canadian officials said Allan Mann Jr. was extradited Wednesday to Toronto from New York City, where he finished a U.S. prison sentence for illegally obtaining government benefits while eluding authorities. Toronto police had secured an arrest warrant for Mann, and he was charged with abduction after arriving in Canada.
Mann was in court Thursday for a bail hearing, but it was postponed until Monday, a court official said.
It was not clear whether Mann has an attorney in Toronto who could comment on the abduction case. His attorney in the U.S. declined to comment.
Toronto police say Mann kidnapped his son during a court-ordered visitation in 1987. He fled to the U.S. and obtained fake identities for him and his son, officials say.
Mann was caught in Vernon, Connecticut, in October 2018, two years after Toronto police and U.S. marshals launched a new effort to find him. Mann’s relatives provided key information, officials said.
Mann pleaded guilty in August to illegally obtaining U.S. government housing benefits during his time eluding authorities. Officials say he also illegally received government medical services.
Mann’s son, now in his 30s, grew up believing his mother had died shortly after his birth. Mother and son were reunited shortly after Mann’s arrest.