DISTURBING

U.S. Marine Accused of Nefarious Scheme to Snatch Afghan Baby

A 3-year-old is at the center of a lawsuit that alleges the Marine and his wife portrayed themselves as Christian heroes to take control of the child.

A U.S. Marine and his wife have been accused of using their status to snatch a baby from an Afghan couple. Joshua and Stephanie Mast are named in a lawsuit that alleges the couple used “false imprisonment, conspiracy, fraud and assault” to take control of the now 3-year-old child who had been in the care of Afghan relatives following a deadly U.S. Special Forces raid that killed her parents, the Associated Press reports. After the baby received treatment in a U.S. military hospital, the Afghan couple alleges that they were duped into bringing her to the U.S. for further treatment, but it was all a ploy for the Masts to “acquire physical custody” of the child and force through “fraudulent” adoption papers. Mast is accused of using his military status and Christian faith to portray the act as a heroic attempt to save a “victim of terrorism,” though the child’s family members say it’s all a sham. Custody of the child is now the subject of secret court proceedings underway in Virginia. The Afghan couple behind the lawsuit says they are still hopeful the child will be returned to them.