A 10-year-old man in southern California was found safe on Sunday, one day after being kidnapped by a foreigner with whom she had communicated on Roblox and the discord messaging platform, the authorities said.
The daughter of the county of Kern was found in Elk Grove, hundreds of kilometers from her home, with Matthew Macatuno Naval, 27, said the county sheriff’s office in a press release. Naval, from Elk Grove, was arrested on Sunday and faced charges of illegal kidnapping and sexual conduct with a minor child.
The Kern County Sheriff’s office said in a statement on Wednesday that his family had reported his disappearance, the deputies had received information from the friends of the girl who led them to believe that she had been kidnapped. The communication with Naval that they discovered on Roblox, a popular online game platform among pre-adolescents, underlined investigators from the city in northern California, where they recovered the child.
Elk Grove police helped Kern county officials and was able to find the navy in his car in a shopping center near his home with the missing child. He was arrested for less than six hours after Kern County investigators were initially sent. The girl was temporarily placed in police custody until she was found with her family.
Naval was sentenced to the main prison of the County of Sacramento without surety and awaited extradition to the County of Kern.
In a press release, the Sheriff’s office highlighted the importance of Internet security.
“Parents, watch all the electronic use and know who your children communicate with. Many applications and games have messaging capacities and have the same, if not more, of the risk that social media platforms,” the statement said.
Anyone with additional information on this case can call the Sheriff’s Bureau of Kern County to (661) 861-3110.
California Daily Newspapers
