Man Who Tried to Abduct ‘Cute and Beautiful’ 11-Year-Old Girl Says He ‘Would Do It Again’: Cops

That’s what investigators with the Tolleson Police Department are saying Christopher Leon, 35, told them in an interview after the alleged incident, according to Law & Crime. He’s been charged with attempted kidnapping and aggravated assault on a minor, with the suspect telling people this isn’t the first time he’s been hit with similar charges, nor would it be the last.

At an intersection in Tolleson on the afternoon of September 19, the 11-year-old girl was waking home when Leon allegedly grabbed her by the forearm and tried to put money into her hands. This is what the girl told police happened, as detailed in their report seen by CBS affiliate KPHO, and Leon did not attempt to counter her story after he was apprehended.

The girl told police she declined his aggressive offer of money, at which point he asked her what time it was and allegedly told her he would be back the next day to get her. After this comment, the girl said she pulled away, managing to escape his grasp, and ran back toward the school for help.

The man reportedly took off running in the opposite direction, according to multiple witnesses and nearby security video footage that captured the whole encounter, per police. Police said the then-unknown man boarded a bus, where they were able to capture the image used for wanted posters from a security camera on the public transport.

He was arrested Saturday morning in north Phoenix, about 13 miles east of Tolleson, and allegedly confessed immediately to police, corroborating the girl’s story. He told them he saw her walking from school and thought she was “cute and beautiful,” which is why he approached her, per court documents.

As for the six dollars, Leon allegedly told police he tried giving her money so she would be “more attracted to him and more interested in talking to him,” per the affidavit. He then allegedly told them he had fantasies about the girl and admitted that he would have probably tried to kiss her if she’d not pulled away and run off. He “admitted to being sexually aroused” by the 11-year-old, police reported, and allegedly said he wanted to “Hang-out” with her.

Leon said that he knew his actions were wrong due to having been convicted of sex crimes before, according to the court documents, and “continuously said he felt as though the victim was scared of him and agreed that she would have felt as though she was being kidnapped based on his actions.”

He allegedly admitted to three similar situations in the past with children in Tucson and Tolleson. Per the affidavit, Leon said he was convicted of “sexual abuse” for a 2017 bus stop incident in Tucson after he “assaulted” a female. He further said that he accidentally exposed himself to an adult woman on the bus leaving Tollseon.

Police reported that amid his admissions in relation to this one victim, Leon further allegedly told them that he was “attracted to younger girls” and that if he were not in some way punished by the law, he “would do it again.”

Leon is being held in the Maricopa County Jail on a $270,000 bond.