COLUMBUS, Ohio — Police have arrested a man who allegedly attempted to abduct a 12-year-old girl walking to school in southeast Columbus on Friday.
According to the Madison Township Police Department, 48-year-old Joseph Ennemoser was taken into police custody Sunday afternoon and is charged with kidnapping and felony importuning in connection to an incident in the area of Clearwater Drive and Fullerton Drive.
Police say the girl was walking to Groveport Madison Middle School North when she was approached by a man driving a white Chevrolet pickup truck.
The girl’s parent was able to flag down a nearby officer and the man then left the scene. Police say the student is safe and unharmed.
Ennemoser appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court and a judge set his bond at $1.5 million. Ennemoser was indicted on kidnapping, criminal child enticement, importuning and tampering with evidence charges on Feb. 23.
Ennemoser, of Sugar Grove, was also accused of exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl walking to school in Hilliard last September.
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The girl told police she was walking to Avery Elementary School when a man, identified as Ennemoser, exited his vehicle and exposed himself to her.
Franklin County Municipal Court records say the girl ran away and Ennemoser got back into his truck and followed her out of the neighborhood.
Ennemoser was found at the Wendy's restaurant on Renner Road and arrested. He was charged with criminal child enticement, a fifth-degree felony. The charge was elevated because Ennemoser is a previously convicted sex offender.
Ennemoser was out on bond awaiting trial for the incident in September. His trial is slated for March 7.
In 2003, Ennemoser pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual imposition regarding an incident involving a girl who was 7 or 8 years old in 2001. He was sentenced to six years in prison, according to records in Licking County Common Pleas Court.