Jail for US kidnap parents

By pleading guilty, the couple avoided longer sentences

By Matt Wells BBC correspondent in New York

An American couple who kidnapped a baby more than 20 years ago and brought him up as their own son have been sentenced to jail terms.

Barry and Judith Smiley went on the run but turned themselves in after telling their adopted son Matthew the truth about his past.

The family were on the run for 22 years

There were emotional scenes at New York State Supreme Court when the sentences were handed down.

Fifty-five-year-old Barry Smiley pleaded guilty to second-degree kidnapping and will serve between two and six years; his wife Judith was sentenced to six months and four-and-a-half years' probation.

Matthew Propp is standing by the pair, saying that even though they weren't his biological parents, he loved them "very, very much".

His biological father was also in court and spoke of his own pain in having searched for his son for so many years without success.

Matthew's biological father spoke of his pain

The Smileys, who lived in the New York borough of Queens, adopted Matthew when he was just three days old.

But when his biological parents successfully overturned the adoption order and tried to get the baby back, they changed their identities and absconded with him.

They set up a new life for themselves hundreds of miles away in the state of New Mexico.

The couple admitted their guilt at a court hearing last month and struck a plea bargain, avoiding prison sentences of up to 25 years.