Siler City, N.C. — Prosecutors say that a Siler City man convicted of kidnapping his 2-year-old son and fleeing to Mexico more than six years ago could face some leniency in his upcoming sentence if he returns the boy to his mother.

Jorge Aguilera was found guilty Monday of three counts of first-degree kidnapping and one count each of first-degree burglary and second-degree kidnapping in the Oct. 1, 2006, abduction of his son, Edwin Gonzales.

Authorities say Aguilera and several men broke into the home of Edwin's mother, Florentina Coria, wearing ski masks and latex gloves, tied her up with duct-tape, took the boy and threatened to kill him if she called police.

Aguilera was arrested in Mexico in the summer of 2010 and extradited to Chatham County in November, but authorities have never been able to find Edwin.

"I've been waiting for so long to hug him and to hold him," Coria said Tuesday.

Aguilera will be sentenced Nov. 1, and prosecutors are asking him to return the boy, who they believe is still with relatives in Mexico.

"It is our greatest hope, and Florentina's greatest hope, that she will see her son next Thursday," Chatham County Assistant District Attorney Kayley Taber said. "Will it happen? We all pray that it does happen."