Port-au-Prince.– Three Haitian men were sentenced to 15 years in prison Friday for kidnapping an American teenager and her Haitian classmate for ransom. The victims, identified only by their initials, were taken in May 2006 by gunmen who hijacked their driver on their way to school in Port-au-Prince.

A third target, also a U.S. citizen, eluded capture when the American who was taken warned her not to come out of her house because they were being abducted. The two girls were held for three days while the kidnappers negotiated with the American's grandfather for ransom.

Prosecutors said their abductors, members of a Haitian Gang called Delmas, targeted Americans because they believed their families would pay more in ransom than Haitians. They say the men originally demanded $200,000 and threatened to kill the girls if they weren't paid.

Kidnappings were once rare in Haiti but became widespread following the 2004 rebellion that sent former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide into exile. U.N. peacekeepers say abductions have since tapered off with the arrest and capture of many gang leaders.