A federal jury in Alexandria, Virginia, has convicted Russian citizen Elena Pendergrass of international parental kidnapping after she took her infant daughter to Kazakhstan and arranged for her to be taken into Russia without the father’s knowledge or consent.
“Elena Pendergrass’ crime is an act of extraordinary cruelty and endangerment,” said Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Pendergrass vengefully separated a parent from a child, abandoned the child in extreme isolation at just one month old, and took steps intended to move the child beyond recovery. Today’s verdict marks an important step toward achieving justice and reconciliation for the victims in this case.”
“When Pendergrass took her one-month-old baby to Kazakhstan without the child’s father’s knowledge or consent, she deprived a father of his parental rights and her daughter of a relationship with her dad,” said Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “The FBI will spare no effort to bring the child safely home to the United States.”
Court records show that before her daughter’s birth on May 21, Pendergrass—also known as Elena Stukalkina—lived in Alexandria. A DNA test had confirmed paternity prior to birth, but Pendergrass instructed the father not to contact her further. After giving birth, she listed “unknown” as the father on their daughter’s birth certificate despite his desire to be involved.
On June 5, after seeking legal recourse for paternity and custody through domestic court proceedings, the father was threatened by Pendergrass with statements about their dual citizenship status. On June 26, she filed an emergency passport application for her daughter in Washington D.C., again listing only herself as parent. The next day she received a U.S. passport for her daughter and departed from New York with her child on June 28 via Istanbul en route to Kazakhstan.
In Pendergrass’ absence, sole physical and legal custody was awarded to the father by court order.
After returning briefly to New York on July 13 to obtain a Russian visa for her daughter—a requirement for entry into Russia—Pendergrass sent both documents back to Kazakhstan where they were used by an intermediary so that the grandmother could take the girl into Russia. The child is believed still located there.
Pendergrass faces a mandatory minimum sentence of three years imprisonment when sentenced on March 19, 2026. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district judge based on statutory guidelines.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith J. Edwards and Nicholas A. Durham are prosecuting this case.
Further details can be found at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as related court documents available at the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or through PACER using Case No. 1:25-cr-252.
