Man Arrested For Alleged Attempted Child Abduction in Wheeling
Two fathers reported a man followed their daughters on separate occasions in Elm Grove during the past week, leading to the arrest of a Wheeling man on two counts of attempted child abduction.
Harry Rigby, 53, of 1414 National Road, Apt. 105, was arrested Tuesday after one of the fathers confronted the suspect in Elm Grove Deli, according to a criminal complaint. Police showed up at about 7:16 p.m. — before the confrontation could become physical, the complaint states.
Earlier, that father had taken a photograph of Rigby, and his daughter identified him as the man who had followed her on Monday. On Monday, the girl, who is under the age of 16, told her father she had been walking her dog around the neighborhood, past a friend’s house on Bryan Avenue, when a man who walks with a limp chased her past about seven houses and then stopped. She described him with details including how he allegedly stared at her.
At the deli, police interviewed Rigby, who said he is fixing a house on Acosta Avenue, and that he does odd jobs around the area, the complaint states. He denied hurting any kids, it states. However, Rigby’s story allegedly changed several times, including the times of his whereabouts on Tuesday, the complaint states.
Also on Tuesday, another reported a separate incident in which his daughter, who is also under the age of 16, reported being followed on Oct. 14.
At 4:30 p.m. that day, while she swept the steps and sidewalk in front of her house, she allegedly saw Rigby drive “up and down Bryan Street, slowly in a blue Chevrolet Cavalier,” the complaint states. “She said he just kept staring at her as he went by, then he parked his car near Marshall Avenue and got out.”
Rigby allegedly got out of his car, walked around a truck, then walked toward her, the complaint states. After she ran to her father in the driveway, he left, the complaint states.
She and her father also identified a photograph as the man who came toward her, it states.
Rigby is in West Virginia Northern Regional Jail after Magistrate Patty Murphy arraigned him Tuesday, setting his bond at $200,000 — $100,000 for each of the felony counts — payable by either cash or bondsman, according to Ohio County Magistrate Court documents. Rigby’s preliminary hearing has not yet been set.
COMMENTS