A man accused of luring a girl inside his car and assaulting her in Webster earlier this week was arrested Friday, according to police.
Walter Fanion, 68, of Southbridge, was charged with kidnapping, enticing a child under 16 years old and four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old in connection with the alleged kidnapping and assault of the girl Monday. He is being held on $75,040 cash bail, the Webster Police Department said in a statement.
Officers Patrick Trainor and Shane Murray spoke with the girl and her grandmother in the lobby of the Webster Police Department on Monday. During the conversation, the child said she was at Memorial Beach when she encountered a man with a dog, according to the department’s statement.
The man is accused of luring the girl inside his car, driving her to a location to drop off the dog he was with and, at some point, assaulting her. He then allegedly dropped her off in the area of her home, where she told her grandmother about what happened, the statement said.
Trainor and Murray and the rest of the patrol shift “immediately launched into action,” the department detailed. Evidence was collected, and patrols were increased at Memorial Beach.
The investigation revealed the man had advised the girl he would be at Memorial Beach the following day at 11:30 a.m. Detectives and several officers from surrounding communities, which comprise the Southern Worcester County Counter Crime and Drug Task Force (SWCCCDTF), flooded the area, according to the department.
The girl was able to provide some unique characteristics about the car. Police then found a vehicle matching that description at the beach, and a potential suspect was identified, the statement said.
Over the next few days, while continuing their investigation, detectives from the Webster and Southbridge Police Departments monitored the man and Memorial Beach. Uniformed patrols were increased as well, according to the statement.
Members of SWCCCDTF followed the suspect, who had been identified as Fanion, to Memorial Beach after interviewing the girl Friday. He was taken into custody without incident and brought to Webster Police Headquarters, the department said.
Anyone who has had similar contact with Fanion is encouraged to call the Webster Police Department Detective Bureau at (508) 943-1212.
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