A Springdale man faces a kidnapping charge after police said he took a 13-year-old girl from school Friday.
Rene Garcia, 28, was arrested in October on suspicion of sexual indecency with the same girl, whom Garcia use to baby sit. Garcia was arrested Friday morning near Mountainburg with the girl in his car, police said.
Garcia was booked into the Washington County Detention Center and faces charges of kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and has a bond amount of $100,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department website. He has a court date set for March 6.
A preliminary police report said Owl Creek Elementary School in Fayetteville reported a missing child at approximately 9:43 a.m., and the girl’s mother told officers that the girl was probably taken by Garcia. The report said the mother had taken a phone from her daughter and found that the two had been in contact.
The report said the Arkansas State Police found Garcia at about 11 a.m. near the Mountainburg exit on Interstate 540, about 30 miles south of Fayetteville. The report said Garcia lied about his identity, but officers found the girl, some of her clothing and personal items in the car.
The girl told officers she had been in contact with Garcia after his October arrest and began to skip school to meet him, the report said. She told officers she skipped school about 10 times to meet Garcia and have sex with him in a park or a house, the report said.
Garcia, then 27, was arrested Oct. 10 on suspicion of sexual indeceny with a child and was released on $10,000 bond. Springdale police said Garcia had been looking after the girl while her mother worked Saturdays.
The mother found a cell phone with text message that Garcia implied he had sex with the girl, said a report by the Washington County Prosecutor’s officer. The girl told her mother she was in love with Garcia and begged her not to tell police, the report said.
Springdale police said they found sexual images and videos of Garcia, who admitted to police he had engaged in sexual activity.
