Oregon man arrested for sexual assault of minor girl in Fresno. What police say happened

A 51-year old Oregon man has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a girl in a Fresno parking lot.

According to the Fresno Police Department, Jame Ellis took the 12-year old from her home on Dec. 30, after communicating with her through a social media app for about a month.

The girl’s family was able to track her location to the parking lot and confronted Ellis there, but he was able to leave with her still in his truck, police said.

The family member followed and Ellis eventually left the girl at a gas station.

Officers were then able to find the truck and detain Ellis, who was arrested for kidnapping with the intent to commit a specified sexual offense, communicating with a minor with the intent to commit sex acts and numerous charges related to the sexual assault of a child under 14, according to police.

Ellis has since been released on bail.

The department, “in the interest of public safety,” released Ellis’ mugshot on Thursday and said he is known to travel to California often for work.

“This is not a time to shame parents, but a time to learn more about what is on your child’s devices and how to monitor their conversations,” the department wrote in a post on social media that includes links to resources from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the web site Missingkids.org.