Couple behind 2009 ‘balloon boy’ hoax in US granted pardons

The husband and wife who pleaded guilty to criminal charges for staging the 2009 “balloon boy” hoax, in which they created a global media sensation with a false report that their son had floated away in a makeshift dirigible, have been pardoned by Colorado’s governor.

In granting executive clemency to Richard and Mayumi Heene, Governor Jared Polis said the couple, now 59 and 56, had paid their debt to society for a “spectacle” that wasted law enforcement time and resources.

The couple reported on 15 October 2009 that their six-year-old son, Falcon, had been carried aloft by a homemade helium balloon that had become untethered in the family’s back yard in Fort Collins, Colorado.

News footage showed the silver balloon, resembling a flying saucer, soaring over north-east Colorado for 90 minutes trailed by National Guard helicopters, as authorities scrambled to reroute aviation traffic around Denver international airport.

Millions were riveted to live coverage on television and the internet, watching as the balloon finally landed in a wheat field. No one was onboard the craft and Falcon, the youngest of the couple’s three children, ultimately turned up in the attic of the family’s garage.

Investigators said the mother later admitted the stunt was aimed at gaining the family their own reality TV show.

The Heenes’ initial account unravelled after an appearance on CNN’s Larry King Live programme in which Falcon was asked why he stayed in hiding so long. Looking first to his parents, the boy answered: “You said that we did this for a show.”

Richard Heene pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to influence a public servant, which is a felony, and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. His spouse pleaded guilty to a misdemeanour offence of filing a false report and was ordered to perform 20 hours of supervised community service.

The husband’s lawyer, David Lane, told Reuters that the family, who now live in Florida, were “very grateful” to Polis, but he took a swipe at prosecutors in the case. Lane said prosecutors told Richard Heene that unless he pleaded guilty to a felony, they would move to deport Mayumi, who was a Japanese citizen. “Richard had absolutely no choice, so he took it.”

The balloon boy case was among 18 pardons and four sentence commutations granted on Wednesday by Polis, a first-term Democrat.