International child kidnapper gets 35 years

A father who took his two children from a Las Cruces day care before being found and arrested by police in Mexico, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for that crime and others on Jan. 20.

Clarence Michael Ransom, 53, of Las Cruces, pleaded guilty on June 23 to attempted production of child pornography, international parental kidnapping and failure to report international travel as a sex offender.

Ransom admitted kidnapping his two children from their mother, who he shared custody with, and fleeing to Mexico on Oct. 8, 2019. Two months later, Ransom was apprehended by Mexican authorities. His children were safely returned to the U.S.

Ransom, who was convicted in 1991 of sexual assault involving a child, violated requirements to update his sex offender registration and to tell authorities when he left the U.S.

Separately, Ransom also admitted having sexually explicit conversations over an online social networking and dating platform in May 2019.