Man Charged With Kidnapping 12-Year-Old Girl on Way to School Had Knife in Car, Police Say

COCKEYSVILLE–A man accused of abducting a 12-year-old girl as she walked to school Thursday had a knife in his car and tried to kiss and fondle her, according to police.

Oscar Argueta, 34, is charged with kidnapping of a child under 16 and second-degree assault, according to court records. He appeared in Baltimore County District Court Friday by video at a bail hearing. Argueta has an outstanding immigration detainer according to Public Defender Carly Merrill. Argueta was ordered to remain in jail without bond by Judge Darryl Fletcher. Argueta, who was provided an interpreter, did not speak during the hearing.

The girl told police she was on Vintage Court near Cranbrook Road walking to Cockeysville Middle School before 8 a.m. Thursday.

She said a man in a gray sedan approached her, saying he was a family friend who had been sent to bring her to school, according to charging documents.

He also told her he had seen her at church in the past. The girl got into the backseat of the car and the man drove her around to several locations, according to police.

The girl told officers the man stopped the car near a cemetery at Greentop and Hidey roads. She said he reclined his seat and asked her if she knew how to box and if she could teach him to fight, according to charging documents.

He touched her leg and stomach and attempted to fondle her, she told police.

The man later climbed into the backseat with the girl and asked her if she had a boyfriend or if she'd had her first kiss, police said.

"The suspect then asked if he could kiss her," charging documents state. "The victim became uncomfortable and began to curse at him, telling him he was supposed to take her to school."

The man eventually returned to the front seat and drove the girl to her school on the 10400 block of Greenside Drive. He apologized and asked her not to tell anyone what happened, according to charging documents.

The man parked next to the school's bus loop entrance and kissed the girl's hand, before she got out of the car, police said. She reported the incident to the school.

Officers viewed school security video showing a man dropping the girl off in the bus loop. School bus surveillance footage caught images of the car's license plate number, according to police. Officers traced the car back to Argueta and arrested him after spotting him leaving his apartment on Saddletop Court, according to charging documents. Officers said they found a knife in plain view in the Camry.

Argueta told investigators he was working Thursday morning as a driver for the rideshare service Empower, using his gray Toyota Camry to pick up fares.

According to police, he initially said he only transported adult passengers but later acknowledged picking up a girl in the area of Cranbrook Road. Argueta said he knew her from church and offered her a ride to school, which she accepted.

According to Argueta, he began driving her to school, but she told him she would arrive too early. He then drove to a cemetery near a park. Argueta said they were talking when she discussed a past trauma and began crying. He said he reached back and held her hand to reassure her, and later parked the vehicle, moving to the backseat to comfort her.

Argueta said he later dropped off the girl at school. He denied touching her legs or stomach or kissing her.

Police confirmed with the girl's mother that no one had been sent to drive the girl to school.