U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour sentenced a Fresno woman Monday to three years in prison for violating a protection order and causing her estranged teenage son to be abducted.

A federal jury previously found Shana Gaviola, 39, guilty during a five-day trial in December.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Gaviola’s then-16-year-old son began living apart from Gaviola with another family in 2020. He petitioned for emancipation from Gaviola and obtained a domestic violence protection order against her in Fresno County Superior Court.

The order prohibited Gaviola from harassing, blocking the movements of, or contacting her son.

Despite the protection order, Gaviola made plans for her son to be forcibly transported from California to Missouri. On Aug. 21, 2021, individuals acting on behalf of Gaviola abducted him from an ice-skating rink in Fresno, handcuffed him, and forced him into a vehicle. He remained in handcuffs for more than 24 hours while they drove to Stockton, Missouri. He was then held at a youth facility until his father freed him.

The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from Fresno and Clovis police, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a news release.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Veronica M.A. Alegría and Heiko P. Coppola prosecuted the case.

Controversy Over Prosecutors

The case took a twist in October 2025 when all judges from the Eastern District of California were recused.

Gaviola accused the original prosecutor, Michael Tierney, of flirting with her after a chance encounter at a bar in 2023. Her attorneys attempted to use the incident to dismiss the case.

A judge in the Eastern District said Tierney’s actions did not amount to violating Gaviola’s rights, but the case was taken out of the hands of local judges.

Coughenour was eventually assigned as judge, and prosecutors from the Sacramento office replaced Fresno-based prosecutors who removed themselves from the case.

Tierney was also under consideration to become a magistrate judge — a position with many of the same powers as a Senate-confirmed federal judge. However, that decision, made by district judges, apparently stalled.