Unsettling details in Fresno kidnapping, molestation case

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A man who Fresno police say terrorized an eight-year-old girl two years ago during a kidnapping will stand trial. A judge decided there is enough evidence to hold Gregory Gonzalez to answer on six felony crimes.

The details laid out were in-depth and unsettling. Detectives told the court what happened from the moment the suspect lured the girl into his car, until she was rescued by a stranger.

Gregory Gonzalez took notes and paid close attention to details described by a detective who interviewed the eight-year-old victim about hours alone with the kidnapping suspect.

Police say the girl was raped before she got out of Gonzalez' truck to retrieve her pants.

The judge will not allow Action News to show the faces of the suspect or witnesses in court.

Tish Hughes with the Fresno Police Department said, "She said she put them on and climbed into the back of the truck and then he yelled at her to get into the truck of he'd kill her."

During the 11 hour ordeal, the victim told investigators Gonzalez kept her head down so she couldn't see out. Through it all, the little girl told police the suspect called her obscene names before she was taken to an isolated area and sexually assaulted.

Hughes said, "I asked her what she saw, and she said that it was trees and dirt and there was one house."

The only time the victim said she was left alone were a few minutes when the suspect left her unattended in his truck while he bought a car battery. The girl also told investigators she was not given anything to eat or drink all night. Prosecutors are asking for a tough sentence for the disturbing crimes.

Gonzalez's Attorney, Jim Lambe said, "He is facing a sentence of life without the possibility of parole as currently charged and that's a very tough place for a client and a defense attorney to be."

Gonzalez spoke only once during the preliminary hearing after he was held to answer to the charges and agreed to accept a trial date later this month.

Neither the young victim, nor the man who saved her testified during the two day hearing.

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