A Northern California woman who ignored court orders and fled to Texas with her two young daughters to keep them away from her ex-husband, a convicted sex offender, was sentenced Jan. 11 to a year in jail, the Associated Press reported.

Debra Schmidt, who was convicted in December of felony child abduction, has been ordered to return the children to California. She was also sentenced to five years' probation and ordered to pay more than $44,000 in fines and attorney's fees to the children's father, Manuel Saavedra, who has had a variety of custody and visitation arrangements since the couple divorced in the mid-90s.

Schmidt, 43, was told Friday she could avoid a jail sentence if she returned the two children, ages 7 and 9, to California from Texas, where they are reportedly living with relatives. She has said she feared for the children's safety, as their previous visits with her ex-husband were not well supervised.

Schmidt arrived in California in September from Austin, Texas to face charges after the state of California filed a federal lawsuit forcing her extradition. The Texas governor had initially refused to extradite Schmidt to California, but eventually did so under court order.

"It's a sad day for women who are trying to protect their children," Jamie Balagia, Schmidt's attorney, told the Associated Press.

Saavedra, 44, pleaded guilty in 1992 to lewd conduct with a 13-year-old female relative. According to California law, registered sex offenders may not have custody of children, unless a court determines an offender poses no risk of additional sexual misconduct. Saavedra was granted custody of his daughters after he completed a sex offender program and a counselor deemed he was no risk to children as long as he did not drink alcohol.

"Schmidt did what any good parent would do. She did what was necessary to protect her children, and now she has to protect them from the State of California," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "This is a classic case of 'blame the victim' and the greatest tragedy is that these young girls have been separated, perhaps indefinitely, from the parent who was trying to protect them."

"According to studies cited by the American Judges Association, when abusive men fight for custody, they win joint or sole custody 70 percent of the time," Gandy said. "Debra Schmidt's sentence sends a message to society that men can harm children and get away with it. But women who try to protect their children go to jail." Gandy called for concerned parents across the country to send letters to California Gov. Gray Davis demanding a pardon for Schmidt.

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