A federal judge has denied a motion for release filed by the Elwood, Kan, man indicted on a charge of kidnapping his 21-year-old daughter.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Rudy Lozano denied the hand-written motion filed on Nov. 18 by Martin Jonassen, 55, who is also charged with obstruction of justice after investigators said that he tried to persuade his daughter to retract her statements.

In that motion, Lozano noted in his ruling, Jonassen was apparently arguing that, because he and his daughter “purportedly retracted any statements or prior testimony, there is no evidence of any crime and he should be released.”

In fact, Lozano stated, “There is much more evidence in this case (as set forth in the criminal complaint) aside from the victim’s statements and the defendant’s statements.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana has filed a second superseding indictment against Jonassen which extends the time period in which he allegedly tried to influence her testimony.

Jonassen has himself filed a flurry of hand-written motions: for release, for recusal, for a continuance, for the suppression of statements, for the removal of phone and mail restrictions at the Porter County Jail.

In a document filed on Dec. 15, Jonassen argues that, far from kidnapping his daughter, he was merely protecting her from a “sugar daddy” and “cradle robber” after receiving a “threat” to her, who he describes as “naive and innocent.”

“Being raised Amish Baptist”—“with the black hat on men” and “long dresses for women, etc.”—Jonassen states that “it is our Religious Beliefs Convictions that our daughters are under our care until such a time as they become married.”

“She has been homeschooled and does not understand all the evils of the big citys,” Jonassen continues. “Hence my concern shown stemming from motel disagreement. She knows it was just a disagreement over so called boyfriends with her best interests still in mind.”

“Incidentally I’m very proud of her,” Jonassen adds.

On Sept. 12 Jonassen was arrested on charges of confinement and battery after Portage Police said that he chased his naked daughter from a motel room in Portage. Jonassen himself advised police that his daughter was “involved with a 60-year-old man and he was trying to keep her away from him.”

On Oct. 19, Jonassen was indicted in federal court on charges of kidnapping his daughter from her home in Gallatin, Mo., and obstruction of justice. The latter charge stems from a phone conversation on Sept. 13, recorded at the Porter County Jail, in which Jonassen asked his wife to persuade his daughter to “retract” her statements to investigators, in return for which he would get his daughter a moped scooter, according to the FBI complaint.

Jonassen’s daughter advised police that she never attended school, “only read things her father allowed, which was mainly religion, government, and history,” and had only been to a doctor twice in her life, “the second time being due to this investigation.”

Posted 12/21/2011