Sacramento man denies snatching child at church
SACRAMENTO -- A man who police say snatched a child from the parking lot of a Sacramento church insists he's not a predator, just misunderstood, reports CBS Sacramento.
Parents at Calvary Christian Center say they watched in horror as Paul Nelson grabbed two children in broad daylight Saturday during a church picnic. Several parents chased Nelson and wrestled him to the ground. But in a jailhouse interview with CBS Sacramento, Nelson denied the allegations.
"Grabbed kids and ran through the parking lot? I never did anything like that in my life. I never ran with anybody's kids. Period," he said. "I'm a child-loving person."
He admitted that he did pick up a 2-year-old child without a mom's permission. He says he played with several children he didn't know.
"I picked him up. Its a church. It's a loving place you know. Kids there having a good time. Trying to make them smile that's it," he said.
Parishioners say when Nelson was confronted about handling the kids, he took off running, grabbing a 5-year-old boy along the way. Church member Sonya Harris said parents had to pry the boy free from Nelson's grasp.
"They were trying to get him as he was running and he had a choke hold on the boy's neck," said Harris.
Nelson said he was surprised when the parents gave chase.
"I don't know what the big deal was," he said.
Nelson's bail is set at $2 million. He faces kidnapping charges.