South Australian father Wayne Cranfield charged with kidnapping his five-year-old son from his Darwin mother

An alleged kidnapper shed tears as a court heard allegations that he tried to grab a five-year-old boy from his Darwin mother. See why this South Australian dad was granted bail.

Wayne Cranfield, 37, was charged with abducting a child under 16 and recklessly endangering serious harm after allegedly trying to take his five-year-old son from Darwin back to South Australia on February 3, 2023.

A South Australian father accused of kidnapping his child in a drive-by snatch-and-grab from his pregnant ex-partner has been granted bail.

Wayne Cranfield, 37, appeared via a prison video link into Darwin Local Court on Thursday pleading to return home, even if that meant leaving his children behind in the Territory.

Police alleged Cranfield and his mother, Vicki Newton, 56, attempted to abduct his five-year-old son from the boy’s heavily pregnant mother at Nakara on Friday February 3.

The court heard allegations the pair slowed the car while driving down Witherden St at 3pm, before jumping out and grabbing the five-year-old boy.

Judge Ben O’Loughlin said the woman reacted like any mother would, and fought to get her boy back.

It was alleged the pregnant woman was dragged down the street, halfway in the still moving car before being pushed out.

Mr O’Loughlin reviewed bloody photographs of the 36-weeks pregnant woman, showing abrasions, swelling and bruising to her head and body.

It was alleged two children witnessed the distressing scene and called police, passing on the vehicle’s details and registration.

Police have alleged Cranfield and Newton were attempting to flee the Territory with the five-year-old, and managed to get 50km south before they were arrested on Cox Peninsula Rd, two and a half hours later.

Both mother and son were charged with abducting a child under 16 and recklessly endangering serious harm.

The maximum penalty for abducting a child under 14 years if convicted is seven years in prison, with the NT Criminal Code stating “it is immaterial that the child was taken with the child's consent or at the child’s suggestion”.

But Cranfield’s defence lawyer Nicola MacCarron said the situation was “complex than it has been portrayed” and cast doubt the kidnapping charge would hold up.

Wayne Cranfield, 37, and his mother, Vicki Newton, 56, were both charged with abducting a child under 16 and recklessly endangering serious harm after allegedly trying to take his five-year-old son from Darwin back to South Australia on February 3, 2023.

“This is not a kidnappers charge — if I can put it crudely — it‘s a recovery,” she said.

“Albeit a recovery that has gone very wrong and has probably been done in an ill-advised manner.”

As Cranfield’s bail was debated, the 37-year-old father wiped away his tears using his orange prison-issue shirt.

“He knows, as much as it hurts him, that he has to stay away from the children, the two children that he has raised,” Ms MacCarron said.

Ms MacCarron said Cranfield and the boy’s mother separated in 2017, and they were in his care while both parents were living in South Australia until she moved to the Territory in October 2022.

She said Cranfield sent his two boys up to see their mother for Christmas, with the children meant to fly back on January 19 for the start of the school year.

“But she didn’t put (the five-year-old) on the plane,” she said.

Ms MacCarron said while they were “negotiating” his return, the five-year-old talked to Newton on the phone and asked: “Grandma, can you come and get me?”

Grandmother Vicki Newton, 56, was charged with abducting a child under 16 and recklessly endangering serious harm after allegedly trying to take her five-year-old grandson from Darwin back to South Australia on February 3, 2023.

She said it was a mischaracterisation that the father and grandmother were “fleeing” the Territory, with the group even stopping for a swim.

“It wasn’t like they were in hot pursuit heading for the border at all,” she said.

Ms MacCarron said there were “real, genuine concerns about her parenting abilities”, with none of the mother’s five children in her care.

Ms MacCarron said any “speculation” that Cranfield was not the boy’s biological father “speaks more to her integrity and her intercessions perhaps in their relationship”.

Ms MacCarron said Wanye Cranfield and the boy’s mother separated in 2017, and they were in his care while both parents were living in South Australia until she moved to the Territory in October 2022.

The court heard the 37-year-old’s criminal history including deception and failure to follow court order charges, but Mr O’Loughlin called his rap sheet “minor and ancient”.

Mr O’Loughlin acknowledged that the South Australian man and his mother were a flight risk, but warned that any breaches of their bail including contacting the victims would hurt their chances of regaining custody of the two boys.

Cranfield was granted bail to his mother’s home in Victor Harbor, a coastal town south of Adelaide.

Both Cranfield and Newton will return to court on March 29 for a preliminary examination mention.

Originally published as South Australian father Wayne Cranfield charged with kidnapping his five-year-old son from his Darwin mother