Charges Dropped Against Elk Grove Man Who Hid Teen In Closet
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A man who was arrested for kidnapping and false imprisonment is about to walk out of the Sacramento County Jail a free man.
Rodney Green, 28 was arrested in Elk Grove on Monday for allegedly kidnapping a minor, but the Sacramento County District Attorney dropped the charges on Wednesday.
It was a horrifying experience for Rodney Green, who says it was his first time going to jail.
"I don't belong here, I don't deserve to be here," he said.
Emotional on the other side of the glass, Green maintained his innocence.
Green was arrested on Monday in Elk Grove after police alleged he kidnapped a young girl. Green says that girl is 17-year old "Jazzy", whom he has called his daughter since she was 14 years old.
"She doesn't know what a stable home is like, so I stepped up and did what I had to do," said Green.
Green says "Jazzy" was staying at a group home in Woodland ran away a few weeks ago to come to Green's home in Elk Grove.
Green says accusations by police of kidnapping and harboring "Jazzy" were lies.
"She decided to hide in the closet and she told me 'Dad go and tell police I'm not here because I don't wanna be taken away,'" Green said.
Green ended up behind bars for thinking he could protect "Jazzy".
"A child will never keep coming back to the same place if they were hurt or kidnapped," said Green's girlfriend, Gina Hatch.
"Jazzy" didn't have a support system, said Hatch. She says "Jazzy" considered the couple as her mom and dad.
"We took care of her like she was our own," she said.
Lying to protect "Jazzy" may have cost Green his freedom for 48 hours, but on Wednesday, the Sacramento County District Attorney dropped all his charges, but wouldn't say why.
Hatch says she knew Green was innocent from the beginning, and she had this message for "Jazzy":
"We hope you can change, and we will always be here for you."
CBS13 reached out to Solano County CPS on Wednesday but they did not want to comment on the matter.