ST. LOUIS — A 34-year-old St. Louis man admitted he snatched a 6-year-old boy from his bicycle and sexually assaulted him Sunday evening in the city's St. Louis Hills neighborhood, police said.
Haji Gul Osmani was charged Friday with first-degree statutory sodomy and sexual misconduct involving a child in connection with the assault on Sunday. He was also charged with attempted statutory sodomy and fourth-degree assault in connection with a July 16 incident involving a 12-year-old victim.
According to a St. Louis police source, a 6-year-old boy was riding his bike just before 5 p.m. when the suspect "lured" the boy into a vacant home in the 6200 block of Loran Avenue and sexually assaulted him.
A police source told 5 On Your Side's Christine Byers that a second boy recognized the man in the photos. The boy told police the suspect in the photos shown on TV was the same man that tried to put him in a headlock and abduct him near Francis Park. The boy said he was able to get away.
Police confirmed that incident in the announcement of charges.
Police said he was arrested Thursday afternoon, and thanked the public for their assistance, saying more than 100 tips helped investigators identify the suspect and get him in custody.
The boy's mother, who spoke to 5 On Your Side's Christine Byers on the condition of anonymity, said she keeps a tracking device on him.
She said he was out of her sight for less than three minutes at about 5 p.m. Sunday along Loran Street in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood when he told his mother a man sexually assaulted him near a dumpster behind a house under construction on their block.
His attention to detail — like the color of the shoelaces the man who hurt him was wearing, his burnt orange shirt and khakis — helped police quickly find surveillance images of the suspect from cameras the neighborhood has installed.
“Lots of people are talking about these cases. Not only in our neighborhood, but across the city and the county,” Tom Scheifler, chairperson of the St. Louis Hills Neighborhood Association’s Safety Committee, said. “It’s relief from parents and everyone in the community knowing that the police worked quickly to get this suspect off the streets."
“These incidents are very sad and unfortunate reminders for parents and guardians to be extra vigilant when it comes to their children. It just takes a minute or two when your attention is taken away for whatever reason, that something like this can happen," Scheifler said. "I hope that those children are able to get the necessary counseling from professionals and that the parents are able to talk to them about it with their kids and do the best they can to put it behind them."
In a statement sent to 5 On Your Side, Alderman Tom Oldenburg of Ward 2, in the St. Louis Hills community, said:
“Neighborhood safety is always our top priority. As a father of four, I am heartbroken that children we’re victimized in our community. We are grateful for the extraordinary police work in arresting the suspect. Thank you to the many citizens that provided tips and camera footage which enhanced the investigation of the SLMPD.”
According to public records, Osmani lives in a nondescript apartment complex on Chippewa Street, about 1.5 miles away from where police said the abduction happened.
Police said anyone who believed they were victimized by Osmani should call investigators.
Osmani was being held without bond at the St. Louis City Justice Center.