Suspect ordered ‘held without bond’
Print Edition
A MAN accused of kidnapping a Chinese student at the University of Illinois is to be held without bond until his trial, US Magistrate Judge Eric Long ordered yesterday.
Brendt Christensen, 28, charged with kidnapping 26-year-old Zhang Yingying on June 9, did not speak during a hearing at the federal courthouse in Urbana in Illinois state.
Christensen is due to attend a bond hearing before the same judge tomorrow. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 14.
If convicted, Christensen faces up to life in prison, according to a spokeswoman for the US attorney’s office.
Investigators believe Zhang is dead but her body has not been found.
Earlier, it was revealed that a website linked to the suspect bills itself as the most popular sexual fetish networking site on the Internet — and it has faced pressure to be clearer about not tolerating behavior that could be regarded as criminal.
The federal complaint says Christensen’s phone was used on April 19 to visit the FetLife.com forum, including to view threads titled “Perfect abduction fantasy” and “planning a kidnapping.”
Christensen was arrested on Friday after agents monitoring him heard him tell someone he had kidnapped Zhang and held her against her will.
FetLife describes itself as “the Social Network for the BDSM, Fetish & Kinky Community,” stressing in online policy statements that it is a place for consenting adults to trade advice and images of themselves, and to arrange to meet. Established in 2008 by Canadian software developer John Baku, it claims more than 5 million members.
FetLife prohibited hundreds of fetish categories this year after it was cited in several criminal cases, including one in Australia, Baku said in a February online note to members. He said he wanted to reduce any legal liability and risks to the wider community.
As of Sunday, however, the site still included multiple forums focused on abduction fantasies, and an “Abduction Play” group had more than 78,000 FetLife members. Among the threads on the site was one called “Tools of the Kidnapper” and another titled “Original kidnapping Play.”
One registered user who commented in the kidnapping forum agreed that anyone who engages in such fantasies must first provide consent. But the person goes on: “I enjoy the knowledge that I COULD do anything I wanted to them. I’m well aware that once I render them helpless, their very life is in my hands.”
The Australian case involved a man who met a younger woman through FetLife. He was charged last year with sexual assault.
In a New York case, a couple who met on FetLife were sentenced to lifetime prison sentences in 2015 for kidnapping and sexually abusing two Amish girls.
Authorities say Christensen kidnapped Zhang as she headed to sign a lease for an apartment and was running late. She tried to flag down a bus, and minutes later is seen getting into a car the complaint says belonged to Christensen.
Zhang’s father traveled from China to Illinois last month. Zhang, who received her master’s degree in environmental engineering in China last year, was described by friends and family as bright and caring. She aspired to become a professor so she could help her family financially.
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