Tim Nelson
A 41-year-old Duluth man who allegedly snatched a girl and her dog off the street has been indicted for kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.
The girl told police she saw the man near her home standing beside his car with the hood up on August 2.
She said that after asking for directions to the nearby zoo, he forced her and her dog into the trunk. Todd Franik then allegedly drove to a nearby wooded area, and across the state line and into Wisconsin.
Federal officials say he sexually assaulted the girl, and then left her and her dog bound in the woods
The girl, who was 13 at the time, managed to free herself and walk to a business nearby. Police responded and saw a car matching the description of the vehicle used in the crime drive by repeatedly.
Authorities traced the car and quickly put Franik under surveillance. He was arrested outside a Duluth strip mall, and a roll of duct tape was found in his car. Shoes matching footprints near the crime scene were found in his home.
He now faces life in federal prison.