An eight-year-old girl has been found dead in a church just an hour after she was abducted by a sex offender.
The body of Charish Perriwinkle was found in the church in Jacksonvile, Florida after a frantic search today
Registered Florida sex offender Donald Smith, 56, has been arrested over her death. He was released from jail less than three weeks ago and reportedly struck up a friendship with his victim’s mother in Walmart.
Investigators say that Smith befriended the child’s mother and her three children in the store before then offering to take the girl to the McDonald’s by the entrance.
They agreed to let Charish head off with the man she had only just met whilst she took care of her other children and continued browsing the shelves.
Less than an hour later, Charish was dead.
The police search in Jacksonville began almost as soon as Charish went missing. Cops say her body was found at a church early this morning, in the Northside area of the city.
The suspect, Smith, was arrested by traffic cops who were on the lookout for his minivan. He was driving towards the interstate and looking to make a getaway.
Smith had been out of jail for just three weeks when he was caught.
‘We located the body of Charish Perriwinkle,’ Officer Shannon Hartley said holding back tears. ‘It’s A very difficult time, obviously, for everyone involved.’
‘Hug your children closely right now and know where they’re at,’ Officer Hartley said. ‘Keep them close.’
Detectives say that within 30 minutes of Charish’s mom realising she had left the store with the man, police were called.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement issued a statewide Amber Alert.
Overnight, cops received a lead that took them to the church where the body was found.
Smith had been a registered sex offender since 1992 and had only been released from jail three weeks ago after being held on charges of intentional child abuse and impersonating a public employee.
Smith also served prison time for attempted kidnapping and lewd and lascivious assault on children.
The first time he attempted to lure a 13-year-old girl into his van and chased her as she ran away.
The second time involved Smith trying to lure two girls into his van with pornographic magazines.
After his release, neighbors said Smith lived with his mother in her home.
Read more: Daily Mail
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