Nashua – The former Canterbury mother convicted of kidnapping her teenage lover last summer and later stalking him is requesting an early release from the Hillsborough County House of Corrections, according to a motion filed by her attorney.
A hearing has been scheduled for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in Hillsborough County Superior Court South to suspend the remaining four months of Jennifer Malone's prison sentence.
Last December, Malone, 33, was found guilty in a June kidnapping of Christopher Cole, then 16, of Nashua, and taking him and her 8-year-old son through several states. Prosecutors had argued that Cole was enticed to stay with Malone due to the implied promise of continuing a sexual relationship. All three were taken into custody in Florida 10 days later.
The two met while Cole was a student at Mount Prospect Academy in Plymouth, a school for troubled youths, the previous spring while Malone worked as a teacher's assistant.
Malone had also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of stalking Cole last September. At the time, Malone had been released on bail and violated a condition of it by making contact with Cole and instructing him to meet her at a friend's home nearby.
In February, Malone was sentenced to three to six years in prison, suspended on good behavior, and probation for five years for her kidnapping conviction.
For her stalking charge, she was sentenced to 12 months in the house of corrections.
According to a motion filed by attorney Adam Bernstein last week, Malone has served two-thirds of her minimum sentence and is entitled to a reduction in sentence due to her good behavior, securing trustees status and securing employment in anticipation of her release.
However, the motion states, Hillsborough County House of Corrections Superintendent James O'Mara has denied Malone an early release due to her stalking arrest during her pre-trial release.
Bernstein's motion called for an expedited hearing due to the fact that Judge Bernard Hampsey, who sentenced Malone, is retiring at the end of the month.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx ... 83231b5615