LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Kentucky man is accused of kidnapping a 6-year-old girl who was playing outside her Louisville home, authorities said.
The Louisville Metro Police Department released body camera video of the rescue of the child and the arrest of Robby L. Wildt, 40, of Louisville, the Courier-Journal reported.
Wildt was charged with kidnapping a minor and was booked into Louisville Metro Corrections, WAVE-TV reported.
Wildt was not related to the child, according to police.
Part of the video showed Louisville police Officer Jason Burba picking the girl up out of the car after Sgt. Joe Keeling had stopped it in a driveway, the Courier-Journal reported.
According to an arrest citation, Wildt took the girl at about 5:40 p.m. EDT on July 2 and put her in his Dodge Challenger before driving away, the Courier-Journal reported.
“It happened quick,” a neighbor, Prentiss Weatherford, told WAVE. “He came around the corner, parked his car, (and) got out within 15 seconds.”
According to WLKY, a witness followed Wildt and reported his license tag to the police. Officers found the child in the front seat of Wildt’s vehicle, the television station reported.
The arrest citation stated that Wildt admitted to police that he saw the girl “playing outside near the street, circled the block, and then took her from the side of the road.”
Robby Wildt, 40, was charged with kidnapping a minor and booked into Louisville Metro Corrections on a $1 million bond.
— WKYT (@WKYT) July 8, 2021
https://t.co/ZNn5XV3zJH
“He went on to state that as the victim cried in the front of his car, he tried to console her before deciding he knew what he was doing was wrong,” the citation said. “(And) he began to drive back to the location he took her from, afraid he may hurt her. It was at this time police stopped the vehicle.”
Body-worn camera footage released by the police department showed Sgt. Joe Keeling locating Wildt’s vehicle and stopping him until backup arrived, CNN reported.
The body camera footage of Burba showed him opening the passenger door of the Challenger and finding the girl crying, the Courier-Journal reported. As Burba picked up the child and walked away from the vehicle, the girl can be heard crying, “I want my Daddy.”
“It’s like the world stops,” Burba later told WHAS Radio. “Like every second feels like hours.”
Robby Wildt, 40, told police he was “afraid he may hurt her” and “he felt bad for doing what he had done” after abducting a little girl riding her bike in Valley Station on Saturday. https://t.co/KtEbfT4ayI
— wave3news (@wave3news) July 7, 2021
“It was overwhelming,” Keeling told the radio station. “Especially when you hear her crying and asking for her family because she’s so scared. It was definitely a gut check.”
Wildt is being held on a $1 million bond for one count of kidnapping a minor, WAVE reported. Wildt pleaded not guilty and a no-contact order was served, according to CNN.
“This is a rare situation, stranger kidnapping. More commonly we see custodial issues as kidnappings,” LMPD spokeswoman Beth Ruoff said in a statement. “Although we do not want the community to be alarmed, this is certainly an educational opportunity for parents to remind their children that ‘stranger danger’ is real. It is important to talk to your kids about any adult who tries to use a ruse to lure them to their vehicles or away from public view.”
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