Police arrested a suspect who allegedly tried to abduct a child, whom he did not know, while she was walking home from school in Gurnee, leading to a bystander intervening.
The Gurnee Police Department responded on August 19 to the area of Grand Avenue and Estes Avenue for a reported attempted child luring.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kailey Hopkins said a bystander called 911 to report that he was driving in the area when he observed a Hispanic male in a Chevrolet Silverado truck attempting to persuade a child to enter his vehicle.
The witness gave officers a description of the truck and said that the suspect was persistent in his attempts.
The suspect repeatedly told the child to get in the truck, the witness said, adding that the child was seen backing away from the vehicle, indicating her reluctance to comply, Hopkins said.
The witness also said that he heard the child, later identified as a 15-year-old girl, state “no” to the suspect when asked to get into the vehicle.
The bystander turned his vehicle onto the next street to approach the scene, at which time the suspect noticed and immediately drove away in his truck, Hopkins said. The male suspect was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Officers located the child and spoke to her. They confirmed the suspect had approached her, asked for her phone number and insisted 10-15 times that she get into his truck.
She said the suspect, who she later identified as Cristobal M. Garcia, of Beach Park, in a photo lineup, was initially driving eastbound when he performed a U-turn, Hopkins said.
Hopkins said Garcia stopped his truck in the middle of the crosswalk, blocking her from walking across the street, and then approached her.
Garcia repeatedly told her he would return the following day at the same time to look for her, Hopkins said.
The child was walking from Gurnee High School to a hotel where she stays with her family.
The child was “visibly shaken” and said she had never seen Garcia prior to the incident, Hopkins said.
Garcia’s truck was located in the same area on the following day and officers conducted a traffic stop on his vehicle.
Garcia initially denied speaking to anyone on his way home the day prior. He changed his story and said that he waved at the child, Hopkins said.
Garcia was initially charged with one count of disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor, and he was released.
The charges were upgraded last month to child abduction, a Class 4 felony, and two counts of disorderly conduct, a Class C misdemeanor.
An arrest warrant was issued, Garcia later surrendered and then the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain him pending trial.
“The defendant is a clear and present threat to the safety of this victim and to the community. Not only was the defendant persistent in his attempts to get a child into his vehicle, but he also physically blocked the minor child from being able to leave,” Hopkins said.
“Had it not been for the witness who intervened and saw what was happening, this minor child would not have had a way of escaping the encounter with the defendant. Additionally, the defendant stated he would be back for the victim and return the following day and did so. The defendant’s actions demonstrate that he is a threat to this victim and the community,” Hopkins said.
Attorney Gary Foley, who is representing Garcia, said during a detention hearing that the victim did not appear upset when speaking with officers and that Garcia drives the same route to go from his workplace near Grayslake to his home in Beach Park.
Garcia is married with a child and Foley argued for his client to be released, saying that Garcia is presumed innocent. Foley also said that Garcia did not return to the area where the victim was on the second day.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim initially granted the state’s petition to detain and ordered Garcia held in the Lake County Jail.
The judge said he believed the evidence was great that Garcia tried to lure the girl into his vehicle on her way home from school and that no conditions of release could mitigate the threat.
Foley filed a motion for relief and a week later, during a subsequent hearing, Nerheim reversed his decision and allowed Garcia to be released pending trial.
Garcia is scheduled to appear in court again on December 3 for a case management conference.