An 18-year-old Idaho boy and his mother have been arrested after police said the teen raped a 15-year-old girl who was then taken across state lines to get an abortion without her parents’ permission.
Kadyn Swainston and his mother, Rachael Swainston, 42, from Pocatello, have been hit with a slew of felony counts stemming from a months-long investigation.
The teenager was charged with second-degree kidnapping, rape and producing child sexually exploitative material, reported Idaho State Journal.
His mom was also charged with kidnapping, as well as trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl and psychedelic mushrooms and harboring a wanted felon.
The probe that culminated with the mother and son’s arrests last week was launched on June 18 when a woman contacted the Pocatello Police Department to report that her 15-year-old daughter had been raped by Kadyn and later driver to Bend, Oregon for an abortion.
But the alleged victim claimed during a forensic interview at a child advocacy center in August that her relationship with Kadyn was consensual. She said the two of them began having sex when the boy was 17 and continued after he turned 18, according to a police report.
The girl told the interviewer that not long after Kadyn’s 18th birthday she found was she was expecting a baby and was “happy” about the pregnancy.
Kadyn, however, was not pleased with the prospect of becoming a father and allegedly demanded that the girl terminate the pregnancy, or else he would not pay child support and break up with her.
On May 18, Rachael Swainston rented a car and traveled with Kadyn and the 15-year-old pregnant girl to a clinic in neighboring Oregon, where the youngster obtained an abortion.
Her mother told police that she did not consent to the procedure.
The incident took place just months after Idaho adopted the so-called “abortion trafficking” law that makes it illegal for an adult to help a minor get an abortion without parental consent.
Idaho is one of 13 states that effectively ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy, and is one of a handful of states that have laws penalizing those who help people of any age obtain abortions.
Notably, neither Kadyn Swainston nor his mother has been charged under the new “abortion trafficking” law.
Police obtained search warrants for Kadyn’s and Rachael’s phone records, which confirmed that they traveled to Oregon on May 18.
The 15-year-old girl also allowed investigators to comb through the contents of her phone, which turned up three photos and video that showed her and Kadyn engaging in sex acts, according to police.
When interviewed by investigators, Kadyn allegedly admitted to having sex with the girl when he was 18 years old and she was 15, and then taking her to Oregon to get an abortion.
Rachael also allegedly admitted to transporting the 15-year-old to Oregon to get an abortion, but she said both the girl and her son had agreed to it. She denied forcing the teenage girl to end her pregnancy.
Police executed a search warrant on Oct. 26 at the Swainstons’ home, where they allegedly found methamphetamine in the mother’s bedroom. They also arrested a man who was staying in the family’s storage shed on an outstanding felony warrant related to meth trafficking.
The mother and son are due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 7. If convicted of their top charges — meth trafficking for Rachael and rape for Kadyn — they could face up to life in prison.