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Report: Girl met suspected kidnapper two weeks before incident

Posted at 4:21 PM, Sep 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-09-27 19:21:50-04

An arrest report gave differing accounts of a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly kidnapped near a Las Vegas middle school Monday.

RELATED: Serious incidents involving Las Vegas valley schools in 2018-19

The girl told police she left her house around 7:45 a.m. to get to Leavitt Middle School. She was approached by a man in a white Ford Mustang, later identified as 37-year-old Jorge Gomez-Peretz, near Tenaya and Larkvale ways. She said that she heard a honk and the driver of the Mustang hailed her down and then completed a U-turn. 

The girl said he then asked if she remembered him from when she pet his dog about two weeks prior. The girl said she recalled seeing the dog and briefly meeting Gomez-Peretz. The girl said he then asked her if she wanted a ride to school, which she declined. 

According to the girl, Gomez-Peretz then stared at her, got out of the driver side and grabbed her by the back hips and put her in the passenger seat of the Mustang. The girl said she began screaming and yelling and at one point, grabbed the passenger side mirror before she was put inside the car. The girl said she was kicking the front passenger window to escape and screaming "let me out." 

The girl said she eventually was able to scratch Gomez-Peretz in the eye and kick him in the groin. She said that Gomez-Peretz appeared to be annoyed with the kicking and screaming that he unlocked the door and allowed her to get out of the vehicle. 

The girl told police that she felt she was in danger but she was not scared for her life. She added that she never takes rides from strangers and that people have tried to give her rides before. 

After Gomez-Peretz was arrested, he confirmed they had first met after the girl pet his dog. But he said she waved him down and asked him for a ride to school since she was running late. Since Gomez-Peretz believed the girl was running late, he told police that she was giving him a ride. 

Gomez-Peretz said as he was driving to school, they struck up a conversation and he said the girl asked if he could pick her up from a nearby 7-Eleven and drive her to school each day. Gomez-Peretz said he did not respond. He assumed the girl was around 18 or 19 years old. 

Gomez-Peretz told police that he dropped the girl off near the school and gave her a hug, based off her request. 

According to the report, Gomez-Peretz said he didn't feel he did anything wrong and denied getting into a physical confrontation with the girl. When Gomez-Peretz was asked if his vehicle had any damage to it, he said 3 to 4 weeks before, he struck a garbage can with his right passenger mirror. He also said a scratch to his arm came from a dog. 

Gomez-Peretz faces a charge of first-degree kidnapping of a minor.