DANVILLE, Va. – The man who kidnapped his 7-month-old daughter in Danville last June, sparking an Amber Alert and multistate search, pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.
Carl Ray Kennedy, 52, appeared in Danville Circuit Court Wednesday morning and pleaded guilty to the six charges against him.
He faced charges of kidnapping of a child by a parent, assault and battery by a family member, attempted abduction, child abuse, grand larceny and prisoner in possession of a deadly weapon.
What led to an Amber Alert, alleged kidnapping of 7-month-old Emma Grace Kennedy
On June 3, Kennedy, a registered sex offender in North Carolina, kidnapped his daughter, Emma, from a gas station in Danville.
Kennedy and Emma were found two days later in North Carolina, where Kennedy was arrested and Emma found safe.
Deputy who rescued kidnapped baby recounts the moment he found her
After Kennedy's plea Wednesday, Petra Haskins, the senior assistant commonwealth's attorney for the city of Danville, laid out the facts against Kennedy.
She told the court Kennedy and another inmate had stomped on a plastic cup and broke it in an effort to make a shank.
Kennedy hid the shank and was planning to stab Emma's mother when the case went to trial, according to Haskins.
As part of Kennedy's plea deal, the commonwealth will not bring additional charges against him.
This includes not bringing charges for violating any protective orders against him. Haskins told the court that Kennedy wasn't supposed to have contact with Emma's mother except via email.
Court records show that, while in prison, Kennedy wrote letters and called the baby’s mother numerous times.
Kennedy's sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 27 at 9 a.m.