SALEM — A 44-year-old Swampscott man will be arraigned today on a parental kidnapping charge after police said he took his son from a hospital exam room.
James Kantor, of 4 Hillcrest Circle, who was held overnight at the Salem police lockup without bail, is also charged with threatening to commit a crime (murder) and witness intimidation.
The charges come after the boy's mother took her son to North Shore Children's Hospital yesterday morning. The mother, Lauren, told police she called her ex-husband to let him know, but he did not agree.
Kantor and his ex-wife share legal custody of their son. Lauren has physical custody and James has visitation with his son every other weekend.
This weekend was not Kantor's weekend with his son.
By noon, Kantor arrived at the hospital and took his son from the exam room against his ex-wife's wishes and against the recommendation of hospital staff.
He left in a black Land Rover and area police departments were notified of the incident.
Throughout the incident, Kantor was on the phone with his ex-wife. Police said he told her he would ruin her life, and later on, that he would kill her, if she did not have the charges dropped.
Danvers police arrested Kantor in the Target parking lot by the Liberty Tree Mall on a warrant issued by Salem police.
The boy was later reunited with his mother.
