Man wanted in northeast Fresno kidnapping, sexual assault found in unexpected place: jail

Joseph Matthew Ward, accused of the June kidnap and sexual assault of a Fresno nanny taken while she was walking with an infant in northeast Fresno, was already in jail on charges of kidnapping his girlfriend when he was named by police as the man sought in the high-profile abduction, according to authorities.

Ward appeared in court in the nanny abduction case Monday, where his arraignment on multiple charges was set for Friday, Aug. 3. He has been convicted of multiple felonies.

“I’m innocent,” he shouted, but Judge Jane Cardoza urged Ward to speak only to his attorney.

Conviction of the kidnapping, which took place as the babysitter was walking with the baby near North Friant and Fort Washington roads on June 22, could be a third strike for Ward, 35, and lead to a life term in prison.

In a news conference Wednesday, Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Ward approached the woman as she was walking with the infant and first asked for water before pulling a 10-inch knife and forcing her into a house where he sexually assaulted her while she held the child. He then made the woman drive him to an ATM at North Cedar and Shepherd avenues and ordered her to withdraw cash. He fled in her vehicle, which was found two days later in northeast Fresno.

Dyer said dozens of officers spent hundreds of hours, around the clock, in a search for the kidnapping suspect.

The day of the news conference, Ward was already in court in the separate case on domestic violence and kidnapping charges involving his girlfriend. In that crime, a complaint filed by District Attorney Lisa Smittcamp alleges that on July 6, Ward kidnapped and physically attacked the victim. The complaint indicates that conviction would be his third felony.

Dyer confirmed the court appearance of Ward on the separate charges the day of the news conference, but additional details about how police linked him to the babysitter abduction were not disclosed.

Ward was convicted in 2000 in Fresno County Superior Court of assault with a deadly weapon, a firearm. In 2010, he was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court on a charge of intimidating a witness.

This story was originally published July 30, 2018 at 12:06 PM.