Canadian gold medallist held child abduction charge
BALTIMORE — A federal judge yesterday ordered Canadian Olympic gold medalist Myriam Bedard to temporarily remain in the custody of US marshals on a charge that she violated a child custody order by bringing her 12-year-old daughter to the United States.US Magistrate Judge James K. Bredar scheduled a hearing for Friday in Baltimore to address whether the US government has the authority to detain the former biathlon champion pending extradition to Canada.
Kevin McCants, an attorney representing Bedard, said he was working on an arrangement that would enable his client to return voluntarily to Quebec on Friday to face the charge. McCants said the holidays have made it difficult to negotiate, but he has been in touch with Canadian prosecutors.
“We’re hoping to have a deal in place in the next day or so,” McCants said.
Bedard, 37, was arrested Friday night in Maryland after US marshals found her and her daughter, Maude, at a Columbia hotel. Bedard, of Quebec, Canada, has been in the custody of US marshals since the arrest. Her daughter is back in the custody of Bedard’s ex-husband, Jean Paquet.
“She’s confident that when these proceedings are over that ... she will be vindicated. She’s done nothing wrong,” McCants said.
Bedard appeared at her initial appearance in US District Court in Baltimore wearing an orange jail jumpsuit. McCants said Bedard was disappointed she had to remain in custody, but he said she told him she was OK.
“She was fine with it,” McCants said. “I think I was more disappointed than anyone.”
Assistant US Attorney Philip Jackson argued that Bedard should be detained because she was a flight risk.
Quebec City police obtained an arrest warrant against Bedard on December 8 after Paquet alleged she had taken their daughter away from Quebec City without his permission in violation of a child custody order.
An arrest warrant for Bedard was first issued from Quebec City, Canada. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police contacted the US Marshals Service and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force on December 15 to help find Bedard.
When marshals determined she was in the United States, a provisional arrest warrant was obtained last Wednesday.
Bedard won two gold medals in the biathlon competition at the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994. She won a bronze medal in that same event in the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
