CENTREVILLE, Md. - A Church Hill, Md. woman has been sentenced after being found guilty of attempted kidnapping of a child under 16 at the Queen Anne’s County Fair this past summer.
As WBOC first reported, the Queen Anne’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to county fairgrounds on Aug. 11, 2025 on reports of an attempted kidnapping. According to court documents obtained by WBOC, the victim’s grandmother was holding his hand when she felt the child being pulled away. The grandmother then turned to see Alexandra Dawson, 28, lifting the boy and putting a baseball hat on his head.
Luckily, the grandmother and a passerby were able to prevent Dawson from fleeing with the child until police arrived, according to court records.
Dawson was initially charged with kidnapping of a child under 16, 2nd degree assault, and disorderly conduct.
On Feb. 4, 2026, Dawson entered a plea of not guilty with an agreed statement of facts to misdemeanor attempted kidnapping of a child under 16, meaning she maintained her innocence but acknowledged the state’s evidence would be enough for a conviction. The plea also places the verdict in the hands of a judge instead of a trial jury.
After reviewing the facts of the case, Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court Judge Lynn Knight found Dawson guilty of the attempted kidnapping charge. Dawson was sentenced to 15 years with all but 7 suspended.
Following her 7-year active sentence, Dawson will then be placed under 5 years supervised probation, according to court records.