Riverside Police Arrest Suspect In Girl’s Kidnapping

A suspect was arrested in connection with the abduction of a 9-year-old Riverside girl who was taken from her home as she slept, assaulted and dumped out of a car several miles away, police said today.

Lt. Guy Toussaint said details of the arrest would be released at an afternoon news conference.

The child, whose identity was not released, was asleep with her older brother and younger sister in a second-story apartment in the area of Pike Street and Herman Drive when she was forcibly taken the night of May 7, according to Sgt. Wayne Ramaekers.

He said the child’s mother — a single parent — was at work and had left the boy in charge of watching his sisters.

The suspect accessed the apartment through an unlocked window, according to Ramaekers. The other two youngsters were not harmed during the kidnapping.

The sergeant would not disclose what happened to the 9-year-old or the nature of her injuries. She was never reported missing.

People living on Giles Court, adjacent to the La Sierra University campus — about 2 1/2 miles from where the abduction occurred — were awakened when the child began knocking on doors, asking for help, according to Ramaekers.

The disoriented girl told officers she had been carried out of her residence by a man, apparently a stranger. She said she was later pushed out of a car.

Police said last week they were examining security video from the area where the child was kidnapped. They were also investigating whether a blue or black pickup truck seen in the vicinity around the time of the abduction may be connected to the crime.