Judge considers visitation for mother accused of hiding son in crawl space for two years

BENTON, Ill. (AP) -- A southern Illinois judge is weighing whether a woman accused of hiding her 6-year-old son in a crawl space for nearly two years whenever visitors arrived should have visitation rights.

Franklin County Circuit Judge Kyle Vantrease heard two hours of testimony Tuesday in Benton in trying to determine if 30-year-old Shannon Wilfong should have access to 6-year-old Richard Chekevdia.

The boy and his mother vanished in November 2007. They were found in September hiding in a small space behind a wall in his grandmother's home near Royalton.

The boy is in state custody while he gets counseling meant to eventually reunite him with his father.

Wilfong is to appear in court Thursday on a felony abduction charge. The grandmother, 51-year-old Diane Dobbs, is charged with aiding and abetting.

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Information from: WSIL-TV, http://www.wsiltv.com

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