State v. Wengatz

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Common Pleas of Portage County, wherein, after a trial by jury, the defendant, Mary Wengatz, was found guilty of child stealing. She was sentenced to two to five years in the Ohio State Reformatory for Women at Marysville, Ohio. We reverse and order the defendant discharged.

The defendant and the custodial parent, Neil Wengatz, were married from 1973 until 1980 when their union was legally terminated by a divorce decree. Neil was awarded custody of the couple’s two minor daughters. The defendant was granted restricted visitation rights.

On June…