GEORGETOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — Earlier this week LEX 18 reported that Moises Vergara was arrested and charged with attempted kidnapping. He is accused of following a 10-year-old girl from her school bus to her home in his white van. The incident was caught on a security video camera.
Georgetown parent Alicia Williamson says, "It makes you just feel sick, sick to your stomach."
Williamson first saw LEX 18's report, and it reminded her of what had happened to her daughter Addison more than a year ago. It started when her daughter wanted to walk home from school. Williamson agreed only if she stayed on a video call with her.
She explains, "She got in front of the dollar store and that man in the van was parked watching her. And she said, ‘there's a man that's honking and he wants me to come to the van.' and I said, 'well don't look at him, just keep walking I’m gonna get in my car and I’ll meet you at the corner.' and the next thing I know she's screaming and running -- I can’t hear anything, I can’t see anything."
Someone helped her daughter get to safety before Williamson got there. The mom and her three kids live in downtown Georgetown. She tells me Addison was 12 years old at the time, and the experience left an impact.
"She did not ride the bus, she was afraid to walk with her friends. She was just very, very scared,” says Williamson.
According to Georgetown Police there were five more incidents, like the one reported on this week, since 2022. Williamson says her daughter's incident is included in that number. I reached out to Georgetown PD, who says detectives are still working on these cases and should have more information next week.
Williamson says she knows what the 10-year-old and her family must be going through. She says, "I empathize with them. You know I understand and it's so scary. And I’m glad that somebody caught it on a ring doorbell because I guess that's what was needed in order to arrest him."
Williamson says she's been able to connect with more parents in the area who want to work together to prevent things like this from happening again in their community. She believes it needs to be a group effort.
"As a single mom I appreciate and love that I’ve had support of neighbors and friends, family, strangers that have kept eyes out and just helped, being good people,” explained Williamson.
