Arrest made in assault on autistic girl

[alp227]

Oakland police arrested a suspect Monday in the attack on a 16-year-old autistic girl who walked away from a developmentally disabled group home in East Oakland and was found assaulted two days later in San Francisco, officials said.

The suspect being held is 36 years old, according to sources close to the case, but an Oakland police spokeswoman would only confirm that there was an arrest. No name or details of the apprehension were released.

The victim - who name is not being published by The Chronicle because she is a juvenile and possibly the victim of a sexual assault - walked away from Fred Finch Youth Center last Tuesday night and was found assaulted on a Muni bus in San Francisco two days later.

The victim's father, Jesse White, said he was told by police: "We have him."

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Arrest-made-in-assault-on-autistic-girl-4087630.php

[freshwest]

1. Poor kid, she had enough to deal with. Good job, PD...

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. more - the center tried to follow her but lost track of her

Fred Finch Youth Center officials said their staffers are prohibited by law from physically restraining clients, but followed the girl after she left for more than 2 miles until she reached the Fruitvale BART Station. It was there they lost track of her, they said, after being stopped by private security personnel for driving in a prohibited area.

BART Deputy Police Chief Ben Fairow said Monday that the Finch staff members were briefly stopped by security at the Fruitvale Village plaza - not by BART police or staff as reported earlier - for driving in a pedestrian zone, but were allowed to drive on.

The center's CEO, Tom Alexander, said it was at that very point that the center staff lost track of the girl.

However, it is unclear when the center staff actually contacted Oakland police, because a police report was not filed until the early morning of Nov. 28, more than five hours after she disappeared. Fairow said that BART police were not notified of the missing girl until later on Nov. 28.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Arrest-made-in-assault-on-autistic-girl-4087630.php#ixzz2E3k0cip2

[AverageJoe90]

3. Kinda reminds me of a lady who disappeared in LA a few years ago.

Only she wasn't autistic and her story didn't have such a nice ending.....her name was Mitrice Richardson, I believe.....