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NEWS FLASH!!
(Posted at 11:00 a.m. 5/23/03)
Tico Times
Prosecutor Fernando Vargas told The Tico Times this morning that he has until 9 p.m. today to request a judicial order preventing incarcerated Dundee Ranch Academy owner Narvin Lichfield from leaving the country, or request that he remain in jail while prosecutors continue to investigate.
Vargas said he was not sure which of the two he would request, but would decide later this afternoon after he had a chance to meet with Lichfield.
The Dundee owner was arrested last night at 9 p.m. on charges of detaining children against their will, coercion and attempting to obstruct justice by using his international connections to send kids to the World Wide Association of Specialty Program’s (WWASP) behavior-modification facility in Jamaica.
Lichfield’s Costa Rican wife, Flory Alvarado, is facing the same charges, but has not been detained, Vargas said.
The Prosecutor’s Office last night confiscated documentation and computers from Dundee Ranch’s administrative offices in the Pacific-slope town of Orotina. Investigators today are continuing to interview the remaining students and gather evidence against Lichfield, Vargas explained.
The Child Welfare Office (PANI) has intervened in the matter and is present at the academy, but Dundee staff is still in control of the facility, the Prosecutor said.
This article was reprinted with permission from
The Tico Times; www.ticotimes.net
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