Man Accused Of Assaulting 8-Year-Old Captured In New Jersey
DENVER (CBS4/AP) - FBI officials have confirmed that a suspect in the abduction and sexual assault of an 8-year-old girl in Denver is in custody.
Denver police said Monday that Bret Lee Luckett Thompson, 27, was arrested in New Jersey.
Officials say Thompson was found sleeping in the white van he was driving outside a Walmart in North Brunswick, N.J. He was arrested by FBI Special Agents, with the assistance of the North Brunswick Police Department.
"Shortly after midnight this morning we found his vehicle, the white van we were all looking for parked in the back of a Walmart parking lot in North Brunswick," Phil Niedringhaus with the FBI said. "Agents approached the vehicle and they found him sleeping in the back of it. They were able to get him out of the vehicle and take him into custody."
Thompson was accused of kidnapping the child from a Denver alleyway in a white van and sexually assaulting her on June 2. She was found about 90 minutes later at a gas station three miles away.
He has last been seen on surveillance photos taken at a Castle Rock convenience store. He was using a white 1999 Pontiac Montana minivan.
Police said the victim's descriptions of the suspects tattoos were key in making an identification of Thompson.
Neighbors in the area where the abduction occurred were relieved to hear of Thompson's arrest.
"That is great. That is great. We keep thinking about this child, you know," neighbor Alex Mansanarez said.
"We feel safe now, because we have a lot of kids, a lot of girls here," neighbor Cecilia Gonzalez said.
CBS4 investigator Rick Sallinger spoke to Thompson's uncle Monday morning. He also said he was relieved to hear Thompson was in custody before he could harm anybody else, or himself.
The Denver district attorney's office officially charged Thompson with second-degree kidnapping and sexual assault on a child Thursday while he still remained at large.
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