Newport woman acquitted of kidnapping charges

A Newport Beach woman accused of trying to kidnap her son was acquitted by a jury Thursday.

After a week-long trial, Niveen Ismail, 45, was acquitted after being accused of trying to hire someone to kidnap her 7-year-old boy, who would then take the boy to Mexico where he and Ismail would rendezvous and fly to Egypt, Ismail’s native country.

Her son was adopted by a Lake Forest family after taken from Ismail’s custody in 2005.

—Joseph Serna

Twitter: @JosephSerna