Sound of Freedom has been one of the few success stories at movie theaters this summer, grossing $163 million at theaters, with Newsweek confirming that one of the movie’s 6,670 crowdfunders was arrested on charges of alleged child kidnapping, according to the St. Louis Metro Police.
Fabian Marta is one of the many names who donated to crowdfund the child trafficking film and is now facing charges of similar crimes himself. As Newsweek details, a Missouri court filing confirms Marta was arrested on charges of being an accessory to child kidnapping. The penalty carries a sentence of 10-30 years in prison or life imprisonment at the maximum.
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Marta’s name and a note for his family appear in the credits of the film, with Newsweek even singling out the time in the film to spot the credit. He also allegedly spoke about his involvement with the movie on social media in several since-deleted posts.
“The Sound of Freedom movie tackles a very tough subject, and took extraordinary effort to bring it to movie theaters,” Newsweek shares from one of the deleted posts. “I’m proud to have been a small part of it. If you see the movie look for ‘Fabian Marta and Family’ at the very end of the credits.”
Despite the charges, Marta’s bail was set at $15,000 and he was released on his “personal recognizance” after initially appearing in court back on July 24. His next court date is listed as Aug. 28, according to court records. As Deadline notes, child kidnapping, and child sex trafficking are two separate crimes, with Sound of Freedom focusing on the latter.
Marta’s lawyer, Scott Rosenblum of Rosenblum, Schwartz & Fry in St. Louis, called the charges “unfounded” and seemed confused over the charges against his client. “I don’t understand how they’re charging him with this,” Rosenblum told Deadline. “He has nothing to do with kidnapping anyone.”
Angel Studios also released a statement, noting that their crowdfunding efforts didn’t provide the background data on all donors. “Angel Studios adhered to the requirements of federal and state laws and regulations in allowing 6,678 people to invest an average of $501 each into the launch of Sound of Freedom,” the statement reads. “Just as anyone can invest in the stock market, everyone who meets the legal criteria can invest in Angel Studios projects. One of the perks of investing was the ability to be listed in the credits.”
