Stephen Pilson pleaded guilty on Dec. 12, 2019 to kidnapping a woman. Three day later, he did it again, authorities said. (Mug shot: Maine State Police)
A woman managed to escape her captor after he tied her to a vehicle gear shift and told her he was driving them to Canada, where “they would both die today,” according to The U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal authorities announced that a jury convicted Stephen Pilson, 56, on Wednesday of kidnapping and interstate violation of protection order. That second charge is related to a prior kidnapping case involving the same defendant and woman.
In the first case, Pilson pleaded guilty in a Massachusetts court on Dec. 12, 2019 to kidnapping her. He received time served and probation as well as a no-contact order. Pilson, however, soon violated that order.
On Dec. 15, 2019, he kidnapped her again, taking her to Maine.
“Against her will, Pilson tied up Victim-1 using a yellow scarf that was in Victim-1’s car, and informed Victim-1 that Pilson was taking Victim-1 to Canada where, Pilson informed Victim-1, they would both die today,” documents said.
As he drove her car, he started drinking heavily from a large bottle of vodka, federal authorities said. Pilson hit her in the face during the drive, causing her to sustain multiple cuts inside her upper lip. He drove erratically, almost crashing into cars.
“Trooper Duda was patrolling the Maine Turnpike at approximately 3:40 p.m. on December 15, 2019, when he began receiving multiple reports of a black sedan (the ‘Sedan’) traveling north on the Maine Turnpike and driving erratically,” the affidavit stated.
Finally, however, the woman managed to flee near the town of Arundel, southwest of Portland. She grabbed the key in the ignition in an attempt to take it out, though she instead snapped it. Pilson had to pull over.
“The victim fled along the highway with Pilson initially following her before fleeing into the woods,” authorities wrote. “Maine State Troopers were alerted to the incident by at least five concerned motorists who each called 911. Troopers later found Pilson with the aid of a K-9.”
Authorities are currently working on a pre-sentence investigation.
From the DOJ:
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available via the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), or via the Hotline’s website at https://www.thehotline.org/. Mainers experiencing domestic violence can also contact the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence (MCEDV) at 1-866-834-HELP (4357). The MCEDV website, https://www.mcedv.org/, also has information about member organizations all over the state.
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