Balloon boy parents to admit hoax
- 00:01:21
- ITN
Balloon boy parents to admit hoax
A Colorado couple accused of pretending their son had floated off in a flying saucer-shaped balloon will plead guilty to hoax charges. Richard Heene, 48, will own up to attempting to influence a public servant while his 45-year-old wife Mayumi will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities. More serious charges recommended by police carried jail terms of up to six years. The deal reached should see the pair avoid prison, with prosecutors recommending probation. It is also unlikely that Mrs Heene - a Japanese citizen - will face deportation after they agreed to drop more serious charges. The couple's lawyer David Lane said: "Upon reviewing the evidence, arguably Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and Richard could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal. "This, however, would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving, caring, compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk, thus these pleas." Millions of TV viewers watched last month after police tracked the balloon under the belief that six-year-old Falcon Heene had crawled inside a compartment just before it became loose and took to the skies. It travelled around 50 miles before floating to the ground, at which point it was discovered that the youngster was not on board. He turned up a few hours later after apparently hiding in the family home. Suspicions were soon raised that the whole incident was an elaborate stunt. In a TV interview, Falcon was asked why he did not come out of hiding, to which he looked at his father and said: "You said we did this for a show." It led to the re-questioning of his parents over the incident.
ITN | November 12, 2009
