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Deputies from the St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department escorted Nicole Vaisey, left, and Stephen Howells, to their arraignment on first-degree kidnapping charges at Fowler Town Court in Fowler, N.Y. in Aug. 2014. (Melanie Kimbler-Lago/The Watertown Daily Times via AP, File)
CANTON, N.Y. » A man convicted of sexually abusing two Amish girls in northern New York to make pornography has pleaded guilty to kidnapping in the case.
Stephen Howells and girlfriend Nicole Vaisey were charged by federal prosecutors with coercing and sexually exploiting the girls and other children. Both have pleaded guilty to child pornography charges, remain jailed and await sentencing.
Howells on Friday also admitted he pushed the girls into a car his girlfriend was driving.
Authorities say he lured the girls with a dog.
He faces 25 years in prison. His girlfriend also has pleaded guilty to kidnapping.
The Amish girls were 7 and 11 years old. They were abducted Aug. 13 from their family’s roadside farm stand. They were released from the couple’s home the next day.
