Balloon boy parents cut deal to avoid jail
Parents of 'balloon boy' Falcon Heene to plead guilty to charges over infamous October incident in Colorado
Thursday, 12, Nov 2009 05:06
By Matthew Champion.
The parents of a six-year-old dubbed balloon boy by the US media are to plead guilty to charges relating to last month's hoax, it has emerged.
Media and civil defence helicopters were dispatched in October when Richard and Mayumi Heene said their son Falcon was in a helium balloon travelling at speeds of up to 50mph and heights of 8,000ft in the skies above Colorado.
When the balloon, made of duct tape and balsa wood crashed, it emerged that Falcon was in fact hiding at home in his parents' attic. Authorities charged the Heenes when he said his parents had told him to hide "for the show" in a live television interview.
Mr and Mrs Heene's lawyer said the couple would plead guilty to offences relating to the incident at Larimer county court tomorrow morning.
Mrs Heene is charged with false reporting to authorities, a misdemeanour offence, while her husband is accused of attempting to influence a public official, a felony charge.
As she is a Japanese citizen, Mrs Heene could have faced deportation if convicted, leading to the couple cutting a deal with prosecutors that will likely see them given probation rather than jail terms.
"It is supremely ironic that law enforcement has expressed such grave concern over the welfare of the children, but it was ultimately the threat of taking the children's mother from the family and deporting her to Japan which fuelled this deal," said lawyer David Lane.