Terrifying moment of eleven-year-old girl fights and is saved from kidnapping by pedophile

An 11-year-old girl fought a knife-wielding pedophile who jumped out of her truck in an attempt to kidnap her in Florida, United States.

Surveillance camera footage shows how the girl was playing alone outside her house on Tuesday morning around 7 a.m. when a Dodge Journey truck pulled up beside a bus stop in Old Corry Field Road and Perdido Street, West Pensacola. When the man, later identified by sheriffs as Jared Paul Stanga, ran towards her with a knife in his hand, the girl stood up and attempted to escape, reported the Pensacola News Journal.

Burley’s suspect, who authorities described as a convicted sex offender, grabbed the girl with a headlock and started dragging her to the moving truck. But as she struggled to escape his clutches, he tripped to the ground and she was able to free herself. The man returned to the car and drove off.

Within minutes, more than 50 agents from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office swarmed the area looking for the sex offender, and local media published a description of him and his vehicle. He tried to disguise the truck by painting it a different color, but sheriffs found him eight hours later.

County authorities said Stanga, 30, was arrested Tuesday evening and charged with attempted kidnapping of a 13-year-old minor, aggravated assault and bodily harm. Additionally, Sheriff Chip Simmons said Stanga has an “extensive” criminal past that includes charges of child sexual abuse and that it is possible that this was premeditated. “He’ll never be free to do it again,” said Simmons, “our concern was that it wasn’t his first try.”

According to the authorities, the girl had been traumatized and with some scratches. Sheriff Simmons paid tribute to the courage of the young woman during a press conference on Tuesday evening. “She fought, fought and fought, until she was finally able to free herself from her future captor. My message to her is that she is my hero, she has not given up ”.

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