HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a Connecticut man they say kidnapped a 12-year-old girl from a Massachusetts park, brought her to a wooded area where he sexually assaulted her, and then abandoned her in an unfamiliar neighborhood.
Federal prosecutors say 35-year-old Joshua Besaw, of Thompson, was detained following an initial court appearance Wednesday. It was not clear who represented him.
Authorities say he spotted the girl at a park in Webster, Massachusetts on May 31, enticed her into his car, and drove her to the woods in the adjacent town of Thompson. Authorities say after the assault he dropped her off in Dudley, Massachusetts. She had to borrow a stranger’s cellphone to call her parents.
Besaw faces several charges including kidnapping and transporting a minor for illegal sexual activity.
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