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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Federal judge orders attempted kidnapping defendant Ronald Ilg to remain in jail

Ilg  (LinkedIn photo)

A federal judge has ordered former Spokane neonatal doctor Ronald Ilg, who faces allegations he solicited a kidnapper to abduct and extort his estranged wife on the dark web, to remain in jail pending trial.

Magistrate Judge John T. Rodgers handed down the order Tuesday after a hearing late last week. At that hearing, Ilg’s attorney Carl Oreskovich argued that his client could be released on home monitoring to prevent him speaking with any alleged victims or witnesses in the case. Prosecutors argued no release conditions would protect the women.

Ilg has been tied by investigators to an online account that sought someone to kidnap and inject his estranged wife with heroin in an attempt to convince her to drop a legal action against him. The person using the account offered to use cryptocurrency to pay for the crimes.

Rodgers ordered Ilg to remain in custody pending trial after announcing Friday he was taking the arguments under advisement. A trial is scheduled for October. The order may be appealed to U.S. District Court Judge William Fremming Nielsen, who is handling the case.

Ilg remained in custody of the Spokane County Jail on Wednesday afternoon.