Suspect in custody after abduction of T.O. girl, 13

Suspect in custody after abduction of T.O. girl, 13

By Michael Picarella

Acorn Staff Writer

A Thousand Oaks man is being charged with the kidnapping and molestation of a 13-year-old girl walking near school last week, authorities say.

Paul Whitehead, 23, remains in custody at Ventura County Jail with bail set at $500,000.

The unidentified girl was walking by herself in the 600 block of Erbes Road at about noon on Veterans Day when Whitehead allegedly lured her into his pickup by telling her another man was following her and that she should get into his vehicle.

Whitehead had a cell phone and told the girl that he was speaking with law enforcement representatives and said he wanted to help her, according to Dave Wareham of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. The girl entered his truck and the man drove away.

Initially, the girl refused to enter the truck, but the suspect was acting like he wanted to be helpful and he expressed concern for her safety, according to Wareham.

"She had a tough decision to make," Wareham said. "When she was in the truck, his behavior changed. She realized she was in a place that she didn’t want to be. So she did a great job getting out."

After riding about two blocks, the girl jumped out of the pickup and fled.

She sought safety in a nearby home. She knocked on one front door and a woman who happened to be home from work responded.

"On Friday, we received a phone call from a citizen who thought that they knew this gentleman and that they had seen him in his truck," Wareham said.

The description of the truck, a white Ford Ranger, matched the victim’s description of Whitehead’s vehicle, he said.

Officials from Colina Middle School in Thousand Oaks, which is near the site of the kidnapping, immediately issued a warning to all parents.

"We have an alert system where we can contact every parent within 10 minutes and we did so, telling them that there had been an apparent kidnapping of a student near our school," said Mike Waters, Colina principal. "We told them to be very conscious of where their children are and we told them to make sure that their children are walking at least in pairs."

Westlake Village resident Pat Helton donated the alert system to the school, which sends the principal’s recorded message into the homes of school parents.

"The old technology that the school district used to contact parents in an emergency situation could take up to eight hours to reach all the parents," Helton said.

The parents of the girl who was kidnapped had no comment, but felt fortunate to have their daughter safely at home, Wareham said.

Although the attempted kidnapping is the first of its kind in Thousand Oaks in several years, the community shouldn’t feel immune, Wareham said.

The day after the kidnapping, a man reportedly exposed himself to a pair of students at Aspen Elementary School in Thousand Oaks. Whitehead is being investigated as a possible suspect in that incident.

"He’s been busier than we thought," Wareham said.

Anyone with information about either case should call investigators at (805) 494-8255.