We narrowly avoided a travesty of justice earlier this week in Modesto, California. Last summer, a man from nearby Ceres was arrested on charges that he tried to kidnap a 14-year-old girl in a Modesto neighborhood. But there was one problem—the kidnapping never occurred. After viewing surveillance video that proved there was no kidnapping, prosecutors dropped the case—and now the girl may have some explaining to do.
The odyssey began last summer.
A 41-year-old Ceres man faces kidnapping charges after he grabbed a teen who was walking along Tokay Avenue on Tuesday afternoon, Modesto police said.
The incident was reported at about 4 p.m. and police arrested Sandeep Singh at about 4:45, jail custody records indicate. He remained in custody Wednesday morning, with bail set at $200,000. By early afternoon, he no longer was listed as being in custody.
Fast forward to Wednesday afternoon. By then, Singh had retained veteran defense attorney Kirk McAllister, who got his hands on surveillance video from a nearby church. It showed that Singh was not only innocent, but that the kidnapping never even happened.
As part of the defense attorney’s investigation, McAllister found and subpoenaed security camera video from a nearby church. The attorney said Singh’s pickup and its distinctive yellow exterior can be seen in the security camera video, contradicting the girl’s story to police.
“It showed his pickup and it showed him driving past the young woman and never stopping,” McAllister said. “So, it totally exonerated him.”
The assistant DA handling the case, Erin Schwartz, saw the video for herself and concluded the girl’s initial story was “essentially an impossibility.” Under questioning from investigators, the girl admitted she’d made the whole thing up.
That set the stage for a hearing on Wednesday at which Schwartz moved to not only dismiss the charges, but have Singh formally exonerated and the record of his arrest sealed. The judge agreed, and declared Singh “factually innocent.”
Watch Singh and McAllister speak to The Modesto Bee here. The Bee also got a copy of the surveillance video.
McAllister said that police missed a huge red flag early on. During the girl’s initial interview with police, she said she didn’t want any surveillance video found. Had police looked into this further, it’s very likely that Singh would have never had to endure this ordeal. He added that it was only last week that prosecutors re-interviewed her and she admitted it was a hoax.
For his part, Singh is relieved that this is finally over. In a colossal understatement, he said this whole thing has turned his life “upside down.” That’s an understatement. Not only did he have to cough up ten percent of his bond, but presumably he had to spend a small fortune in fees to McAllister. According to a defense attorney who is a friend of mine, had Singh been forced to rely on a public defender, it’s very likely he would have gone to jail. After all, as The New York Times showed in frightening fashion two weeks ago, most public defenders simply don’t have the time or resources to mount a defense this vigorous.
There’s a very good chance this little girl could be in for a world of trouble herself, per KTXL in Sacramento.
Singh says he can restart his life, but the legal troubles for the girl are just beginning. McAllister says the DA's office forwarded the case to the juvenile probation department, since it is illegal to file a false report.
The district attorney says because of the girl's age, anything that may happen to her would be totally confidential.
At the very least, this girl is in for a serious reality check. Hopefully any investigation delves into whether someone put her up to do this. Additionally, if it is possible, this girl’s parents, and/or whoever put her up to this outrageous stunt, need to be on the hook for both the costs of the investigation and Singh’s legal costs.
It cannot be stated enough—the real crime that occurred here was this outrageous frame-up. This is behavior that no civilized society can tolerate.