Fresno police accuse 27-year-old man of false imprisonment of 12-year-old girl

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Fresno police have arrested a 27-year-old man on multiple felony charges after an incident involving a 12-year-old girl on her way to school.

Officers responded on Thursday 21 to the area of West Weldon Avenue and North Channing Way for a report of a man attempting to speak with a child.

Police said the victim told investigators she was walking to school when a Hispanic adult man in a navy-blue van pulled up alongside her.

According to police, the suspect spoke to the girl in Spanish, but she did not understand him.

Investigators said the man then positioned his vehicle in the girl's path, pointed to his cell phone and waved her over.

The girl told police she feared for her safety, walked up to the suspect and handed him her phone.

The man entered his phone number into the device and told the girl he would return at 4 p.m. to pick her up, investigators said.

Before leaving, the suspect blew a kiss at the girl.

The girl made it safely to school and reported the incident to school officials and police.

Detectives with the Fresno Police Department and its Sexual Assault Unit searched the neighborhood for surveillance video and witnesses and took the girl's phone for analysis.

With assistance from the Internet Crimes Against Children team and through law enforcement databases, investigators identified the suspect as Elias Panzo Temoxtle.

Temoxtle was arrested on several felony charges, including distributing or showing pornography to a minor, annoying a child under 18, and false imprisonment.

He was booked into the Fresno County Jail.

The investigation remains ongoing.