Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Northridge Kidnapping Suspect Pleads Not Guilty
The family of the kidnapping victim also comments for the first time on the ordeal.

UPDATE--10:05 a.m. The prime suspect in the March kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl has pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges at his arraignment in San Fernando Superior Court. Thirty-two-year-old Tobias Dustin Summers remains jailed in lieu of $19 million bail. A meeting to discuss a preliminary hearing date for Summers has been set for May 22.
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The prime suspect in the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday on 37 felony charges.
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Tobias Dustin Summers, 32, remains jailed in lieu of $19 million bail pending his arraignment in San Fernando Superior Court.
Summers was arrested April 24 in Mexico and returned to Los Angeles County, where he is charged with one count each of kidnapping a victim under 14, kidnapping to commit another crime, first-degree burglary with a person present, and 34 sex-related counts.
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Following up on a telephone tip received late April 23, police in Mexico found Summers at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center south of Tijuana. Los Angeles police Chief Charlie Beck said a $25,000 reward that was "highly publicized south of the border" led to the telephone tip about Summers' whereabouts.
Summers was charged April 3 in connection with the March 27 abduction of the girl from her bedroom in the 8000 block of Oakdale Avenue. The girl's mother discovered the girl missing around 3 a.m. when she went to check on her after hearing a commotion in the house.
Police said the girl was taken to various locations in two vehicles and sexually assaulted before being dropped off near a Woodland Hills-area hospital that afternoon. She was comforted by a good Samaritan at a nearby coffee shop until police could be summoned.
The girl was barefoot and appeared to be wearing different clothes than those she was reported to be wearing when she disappeared.
The girl's family issued a statement thanking the various law enforcement agencies involved in the search for Summers.
"Throughout this ordeal, they've been working around the clock hunting this man, not only for justice for our daughter, but to make sure he's unable to hurt anyone again," the statement said. "As a family we would also like to thank everyone -- family, friends, members of our church and strangers who have offered prayers, good wishes and thoughts. We're humbled by the outpouring of affection and concern for our daughter. It's not only helped us get through the last few weeks, but our daughter as well."
Police said Summers, who has a lengthy rap sheet dating back to 2002, was released from custody last July as a result of the state's effort to relieve prison overcrowding. The criminal complaint alleges he has prior convictions for grand theft and petty theft dating back to December 2003.
Although he is not known to be a registered sex offender, Summers did have an arrest for battery in 2009 that involved child annoyance, police said.
On March 31, police arrested Summers' alleged accomplice, 29-year-old Daniel Martinez, who has been charged with one count each of kidnapping and first-degree burglary, but Summers remained at large. Beck announced April 5 that he was seen on surveillance tape crossing a foot bridge into Mexico.