A Dunkirk man has been convicted of a 2016 kidnapping in a retrial that took place this week in Chautauqua County Court.

Samuel Saeli was found guilty Friday of second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated felony. The case was reheard after a New York appeals court dismissed a 16-year state prison sentence and ordered a new trial.

In that August ruling, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court, Fourth Department, reversed two convictions against Saeli — second-degree kidnapping and second-degree kidnapping as a sexually motivated felony.

Saeli kidnapped a 13-year-old boy from the Fredonia Walmart parking lot in August 2016. The victim reportedly entered Saeli’s vehicle and left the parking lot, but was reunited with his family about 40 minutes later near Cushing Street in Fredonia.

In their ruling, the appellate justices said Chautauqua County Court erred in denying Saeli’s motion during the trial when he sought to suppress evidence obtained from a search warrant. The evidence, a portion of his internet searches, was discovered when police used a warrant to go through his cell phone.

In his appeal, Saeli said the search warrant lacked “particularity” in that it wasn’t specific to the internet search history.

The appeals court agreed.

After a trial in 2018, the victim’s mother told the OBSERVER that “justice was served for my boy and our family.” The mother also indicated that her son and Saeli did not know each other.

Saeli initially had been charged with second-degree kidnapping, a class B felony, after video footage showed him leaving Walmart with the boy. The District Attorney’s Office later added the sexually-motivated felony charge after a forensic investigation confirmed the presence of Saeli’s DNA present on the boy and his clothing.

During the trial, Saeli’s defense argued that the Dunkirk man had met the victim and his family at a party prior to the abduction and that they had known each other. When Saeli saw the boy by himself at Walmart they hugged and shared a high-five.

District Attorney Jason Schmidt was the lead prosecutor in the case. “My heart goes out to the victim in this matter who was forced to relive the terrible events that occurred against him 8 years ago when he was only 13 years old. Every victim of child sexual assault deserves not just a voice but the backing of law enforcement ready, willing and able to fight tooth and nail to hold their perpetrators accountable to the maximum extent under the law. That’s exactly what our community expects and deserves and we have given it all to see that mission through,” he said.

Schmidt was appreciative of those who assisted in the retrial. “A special heartfelt thanks and appreciation for all their efforts and contributions must be extended to Fredonia Police who exhaustively investigated this matter, our Child Advocacy Center which worked so closely with the victim, his family and us, and countless other persons who contributed to this effort, including my colleagues Andrew Molitor who previously tried and convicted Mr. Saeli together with Emily Woodard and Erik Bentley. Their hard work and dedication, along with others in my office, deserve recognition,” he said.