A Minnesota man has been charged with attempting to kidnap a child, who he did not know, from a car in the parking lot of a grocery store in Fox Lake.
Yeleng Xiong, 24, of St. Paul, Minnesota, was charged with one count of attempted kidnapping and one count of disorderly conduct.
The incident happened on Sunday at the Jewel-Osco, 1350 Route 12 in Fox Lake.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kelse Banks said a teenage girl, younger than 16, waited inside the car while her father went into the grocery store.
She kept the doors locked while waiting in the car. Xiong approached the car wearing only boxers and a tank top.
The man motioned to roll down the window and the child told him “no,” Banks said during a bond hearing.
Xiong attempted to open the car doors and the child called her father as he was still in the store.
Banks said that Xiong tried opening a rear passenger door but it was locked and the child continued to tell him to leave.
Officers arrived and were able to conduct a traffic stop on Xiong’s vehicle.
Officers asked Xiong what he was doing in the parking lot and he reportedly said he was trying to “find love and get laid.”
Xiong, who resides in Minnesota, was traveling from the state and passing through Illinois while on his way to South Carolina at the time of the incident, Banks said.
The man said he wanted to see if the child would go out for drinks and dinner, Banks said. Xiong said he ultimately wanted to take her to a hotel for sex.
Xiong admitted that he was trying to kidnap the victim, Banks said.
During a follow-up interview with detectives, Xiong said he had been driving past when he saw the victim and thought she was beautiful.
Xiong said he wanted to take her into the woods to have sex with her, Banks said.
The man also allegedly admitted that he wanted to sexually assault the victim inside the car.
Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak ordered Xiong held on a $1 million bond.
Xiong remains held in the Lake County Jail and would need to post $100,000 cash in order to be released.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 1.