Deputies arrested a man on suspicion of attempted kidnapping after he allegedly grabbed a 17-year-old girl walking through the Santa Clara riverbed Tuesday.

While the teenager was walking through the riverbed, commonly referred to as the wash, she was approached by 35-year-old Egenio Torres, according to Lt. Ignacio Somoano with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station.

Torres allegedly asked the victim if he could walk with her. She declined his offer and tried several times to move away from him, Somoano said. That was when the suspect grabbed her, he said.

“As she tried several times to distance herself from the suspect, he grabbed her arm and tried to physically restrain her,” Somoano said. “She broke free of the suspect’s grasp and fled on foot.”  

The girl contacted the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and told them about the encounter. She later identified Torres for responding deputies.

He was arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping around 4:30 p.m. Bail was set for Torres, who is described as self-employed in arrest records, at $100,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court Thursday at the San Fernando Superior Courthouse.

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