An investor in the box office hit "Sound of Freedom," about child sex trafficking, has been arrested and charged with child kidnapping.
Chesterfield, Mo. Resident Fabian Marta, 51, was arrested July 21 by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police department and charged with Kidnapping in the First Degree, a class A felony.
According to court documents reviewed by Salon, Marta was charged under criminal code RSMO 565.115, which states, "A person commits the offense of child kidnapping if he or she is not a relative of the child within the third degree and, knowing he or she has no right to do so, removes a child under the age of fourteen without consent of the child's parents or guardian, or confines such child for a substantial period of time without such consent."
No other details concerning the charges were immediately available.
Marta is one of thousands who raised funds for "Sound of Freedom" distributor and producer Angel Studio's marketing campaign. His name appears in the film's credit alongside the more than 6,678 other individuals who contributed to the crowdfunding effort.
Being listed in the credits was one of the incentives offered to potential investors, Angel Studios CEO Neal Harmon told Indiewire in a statement distributed on Friday. "Our film speaks to this globally pervasive problem, and it is our hope that perpetrators everywhere will be brought to justice no matter who they are, and that even more people will see the film to raise awareness," the statement said.
The recent charges were first reported by Newsweek and were brought to light on Aug. 2 by self-described "anti-disinfo activist" Jim Stewartson on X.
As of Friday, Aug. 4, "Sound of Freedom" is the 13th highest-earning film of 2023 domestically, with a total gross of $155,000,017, placing it ahead of the domestic takes for "Fast X" and "Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One." It was released on July 4.
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