Charges: St. Paul fire inspector kidnapped, attempted to sexually assault girl
Charges: St. Paul fire inspector kidnapped, attempted to sexually assault girl originally appeared on Bring Me The News.
A man who works as a fire inspector for the City of St. Paul has been charged with the kidnapping and attempted sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl.
James Allen Thomas, 73, of Woodbury, offered the middle school girl a ride to school after she missed her bus on the morning of a wet May 21, but first took her to his apartment. There he allegedly tried to force her legs apart, and when she refused he offered her $50 to take her clothes off, to let him touch her, and for her to touch him, the charges state.
The girl says after missing her bus she had sought help from a medical clinic on Phalen Boulevard in St. Paul, but as she got near to the entrance she encountered Thomas, who was wearing a uniform and sitting in a grey SUV. She accepted his offer of help, thinking he was a security officer.
When they got to his apartment, the girl told police that Thomas locked the door behind them before attempting his assault. The victim told police she "wanted to cry the entire time" she was with Thomas, and instantly started crying after she got out of his car when he dropped her at school.
A school staff member said she was outside the building when the victim arrived, and says the victim immediately hugged her, which she said was unusual, and said the girl was shaking and visibly upset.
The staff member told police that a man then got out of the car, identifying himself as a "Sergeant with the St. Paul Fire Department," and said he'd picked the girl up and brought her to school. The vehicle he exited from was later identified as belonging to Thomas.
When arrested on June 5, Thomas admitted giving the girl a ride to school, claiming he first took her to an elementary school by accident. When told that his vehicle is equipped with a device that automatically tracks its location, Thomas admitted that before dropping the girl at school, he had to stop by his apartment to lock it, but claimed the girl never got out of the car.
Despite surveillance from outside the clinic, the school, and his own cellphone data showing it took Thomas 45 minutes to travel the six-and-a-half miles from the clinic to the school, Thomas denied that it took that length of time.
He then denied touching the girl or asking to see or touch her private parts. He said the only touching was possibly rubbing against her arm when he looked at her iPad.
This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jun 9, 2025, where it first appeared.
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