‘Secondary’ suspect arrested in kidnapping of Northridge girl
Authorities arrested a man considered a “secondary suspect” in last week’s kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old girl in Northridge, law enforcement sources told The Times on Monday.
Details about the arrest Sunday of the man, whom the sources identified as Daniel Martinez, were unavailable and his connection to the case was not immediately known.
Another suspect, identified by police Saturday as 30-year-old Tobias Dustin Summers, remains at large.
Police said Summers had a criminal history dating back to 2002 that includes charges of kidnapping, robbery, explosives possession and petty theft. LAPD officials said he was released from custody in July 2012 under realignment.
Summers is not a registered sex offender, but authorities said he was arrested on suspicion of battery in 2009 in a case that involved child annoyance.
LAPD Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese said Summers had been taken into custody Jan. 13 for a probation violation and was released Jan. 16, but he did not elaborate on the violation.
Authorities have not explained how their investigation led to the men. Authorities initially said two men were suspected of taking the girl from her Northridge home but said Saturday that Summers was the primary focus of their investigation.
Sources told The Times on Monday that investigators were still trying to determine why the girl was targeted. At the moment, they said, they do not believe it was related to a 2008 international child abduction involving her relatives.
Authorities have said the girl’s mother noticed her daughter was missing from her bedroom at about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday. She was found nearly 12 hours later, in a parking lot some six miles away from her home.
The girl had cuts and bruises, some to her face. Sources later told The Times she had been sexually assaulted.
The girl was initially identified by The Times, citing authorities, after she went missing. However, it is the policy of The Times not to identify victims in cases of alleged sexual crimes.
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