Two men arrested at Winchester park after alleged kidnapping attempt
Published 11:34 am Tuesday, April 4, 2023
Arvind Arvind
Rahul Rahul
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By Warren Taylor and Matt Cizek
Two men have been arrested by the Winchester Police Department and charged with kidnapping following an alleged incident at a Winchester park Monday.
The men identified only as Rahul, 21, and Arvind, 23, each face a charge of kidnapping a minor after the two tried to coerce children to come with them at Legacy Grove Park, according to court documents.
Witnesses stated to police that the men were seated on top of a slide waiting “for kids to come up to where they were,” according to court documents.
During the investigation, law enforcement determined that the pair forced a 7-year-old child to sit and take a photo with them. According to court records, the child told investigators they were “physically grabbed” by the wrist and held on a bench.
Recovered photos from a phone allegedly belonging to Rahul showed Arvind with his arm around the child “all the way down to the chest area.” According to court documents, Arnvid told investigators the child was chosen because they were “cute.”
The child, according to court documents, was visibly “terrorized” by the two men and was afraid to go to their mother when she call for the child to come to her. After the mother finally retrieved the child, she called the police.
The two men tried to leave the park but were met by law enforcement arriving on the scene.
Rahul and Arvind are currently lodged at the Clark County Detention Center on separate $10,000 cash bonds. Neither man has a set court date.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing but Winchester Police believe that this was an isolated incident according to a statement posted to the WPD Facebook page.
Still, the WPD pledged in the statement to keep up routine patrols.
“As usual practice, your Winchester Police Department will be patrolling our city parks frequently during spring break and in the summer months. Our parks and public spaces are safe and we encourage our citizens to take advantage of our green spaces while being aware of their surroundings.”
