A 75-year-old man was arrested and charged with kidnapping and molesting a 5-year-old girl after the girl’s mother left her in the care of an acquaintance, said police.
The 30-year-old Queens mother was also arrested for acting in an injurious manner towards a child, but the charges were eventually dropped by the borough’s district attorney.
Police said the mom didn’t want to accompany her daughter to a playground, so she allowed her neighbor Franz Vila, who is from Manhattan but also lives in Jackson Heights, to take her there. But rather than supervising the child, Vila allegedly took her to his apartment and sexually abused her. When Vila did not return the child to her, the mother called the police, who launched a Level-2 mobilization to find her.
After he was recognized by a Good Samaritan, Vila was arrested Tuesday and charged with committing a criminal sex act, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and acting in a manner injurious to a minor, police said.
The little girl is, thankfully, safe.
