The girl’s mother told cops that the suspect had put in a washer and dryer a week before.
Police in Colorado say that an 8-year-old girl who fought off an attacker in her bedroom is now safe and that the attacker has been charged.
In a news release, the Sterling Police Department said they were looking into an “attempted child abduction” in which an “unknown male” went into the bedroom of an unknown 8-year-old girl and “attacked” her. The police got there about 2:30 a.m. local time on Oct. 15, which was an hour after the crime.
In a new report, police said that the girl “fought with the attacker” and that the attacker “fled” the scene “on foot” before the girl told her parents, who then called 911. Police said the suspect was dressed in a dark jacket and pants at the time.
After collecting “digital, forensic, and physical evidence,” police said on Oct. 19 that they had identified the suspect and caught Thomas Gallegos, 56. He was charged with burglary in the first degree, assault in the second degree, attempted second-degree kidnapping, assault in the third degree, and child abuse in the third degree.
An arrest document that local news station KUSA got shows that the girl told police that the man came into her room, put a blindfold over her face, and grabbed her from her bed. That person hit her in the head and knocked her out when she tried to fight back, she said. As soon as she woke up, she ran to her mom’s room to tell her what had happened.
The girl had cuts and bruises after the accident, but CBS News said she wasn’t seriously hurt.
Between 1 and 2 a.m. local time, the attacker may have come in through the back door, which may not have been locked at the time. So police said.
According to the arrest document that KUSA got, the suspect was wearing a cloth clown mask during the crime. The mask and gloves were later found in the child’s bedroom. CBS News said that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation will test the items for DNA.
KUSA reports that the attacker also took the child’s phone, which police used to help them figure out who did it. According to CBS News, the phone was found dumped near Interstate 76, west of Sterling.
The affidavit that KUSA got from Gallegos said that he lived in the same area and had helped the family install a washer and dryer the previous weekend.
When PEOPLE asked for information about the incident, the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and the Sterling Police Department did not reply right away.
The outlet says Gallegos’ next court date is set for November 4.
Article Source: 8-Year-Old Girl Fights Off Assailant Who Entered Her Bedroom in the Middle of the Night: Police
+ There are no comments
Add yours