UPDATED: Police now say an 8-year-old boy lied about an alleged kidnapping in La Mesa.
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The boy had told police he was waiting for friends outside his aunt's apartment in the 4800 block of Parks Avenue about 7 p.m. Thursday when the man grabbed him, Sgt. Bret Richards said. He told police the man put a hand over the his mouth, used his other hand to pick up the boy, then told the boy to "shut up" as he carried him about 100 feet through a parking lot. The boy said the man lost his footing, so he punched the man in the groin and ran to his aunt's apartment, police said.
Police had released a detailed description of the alleged assailant based on the boy's statement.
Under further questioning, the boy admitted to fabricating the entire episode, according to police.
“We didn't know until the boy was being re-interviewed by detectives this (Friday) afternoon, and he admitted to making it up at that time,” La Mesa police Lt. Dan Willis told the San Diego-Union Tribune. Willis reportedly said that the boy apparently was having some “family issues” and that “he wanted some attention.”
Although reporting a false crime to police is against the law, the boy will not be prosecuted because of his age, and “any consequences will come from the family,” Willis told the paper.
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Willis also told the paper the case had attracted media attention from as far away as Los Angeles, with a radio station there calling La Mesa police for an on-air interview.
The department is conducting an investigation.
