Quets Indicted on Kidnapping Charges

A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a birth mother accused of kidnapping her twins from their adoptive family in Apex and taking them to Canada.

Allison Lee Quets, 49, was indicted on two counts of international parental kidnapping following a day of testimony. She will be arraigned on the charges at a later date, authorities said.

Quets didn't return her 19-month-old twins to their adoptive parents following a routine weekend visit with them in December, authorities said. She was arrested a week later in Ottawa, Ontario, and the children were returned to their parents.

The adoptive parents, Denise and Kevin Needham, declined to comment on the indictment.

Prosecutors said Quets had planned for months to take her children, while her attorneys maintain she changed her mind about the adoption after a challenging pregnancy and has been fighting to get her children back since they were born.

Quets' sister, Gail Quets, testified before the grand jury Wednesday morning. Gail Quets has been a staunch supporter of her sister, saying that she had extreme medical problems during her pregnancy that made her feel like she couldn't care for the children. As a result, Gail Quets has said, her sister felt she was forced into the adoption.

Two other witnesses supporting Allison Quets also were at the courthouse.

Kimber MacGibbon is a nurse from Oregon who represents the HER Foundation, a group that helps people who suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum, the disease Quets said she contracted during her pregnancy. Marianna Leman is a close friend of Quets.

All three women and their attorneys declined to comment on why they were called to testify. Prosecutors earlier said that Gail Quets had purchased a plane ticket for her sister.

Allison Quets is being held at the Franklin County Jail. A federal magistrate has denied her request for bond, calling her a flight risk as well as a danger to the community and herself.