Modesto father accused of kidnapping son rents billboard to get his attention
Photo/ @justice4jayce on Instagram
MODESTO, Calif. (KTVU) - A Modesto father accused of kidnapping his 6-year-old son last year has purchased billboard space to get his attention and bring light to fathers' child custody rights.
The Fresno Bee reports, John Cosso, allegedly took his son Jayce from his mother's home on Sept. 24, 2018. Cosso, with the help of five others including his 17-year-old son from a previous relationship, hatched the plan.
Jayce's mother, Kimberly Valente said the boy was snatched from her arms after they smashed the window of the vehicle she was in as she was trying to flee with her son, according to the publication.
Authorities found the boy with his father the next day at a hotel in Dublin. Cosso was arrested and Jayce was reunited with his mother.
Cosso was charged with kidnapping, burglary, permitting a child to suffer under circumstances likely to cause great bodily injury, domestic battery, and vandalism.
He says he hasn't seen or spoken to his son since his arrest last year. There is an emergency protective order in place preventing him from contacting them, according to court records.
To express his love for his child and bring awareness to the family court system some say is broken, Cosso rented a billboard in downtown Modesto featuring a photo of him and Jayce along with the message, "I'm always here for you Jayce, Daddy loves you!"
Cosso told the Fresno Bee by phone, the billboard "is about a little boy who is used to his father and now he doesn't have one at all."
Jayce's mother says Cosso hasn't taken accountability for his actions. She told the news outlet in a text, "I'm disturbed and saddened by his delusion, his disregard for what he's done to us."