Man Tried To Kidnap 12-Year-Old Girl At Bus Stop: Cops

NILES, IL — A Highland Park resident accused of trying to kidnap a 12-year-old girl last year remains held at Cook County Jail Wednesday. The same man who allegedly approached the girl while she was waiting for a bus in Niles and asked if she "wanted to skip school and hang out with him" had been arrested two months prior for reportedly exposing his genitalia in a Wilmette intersection. He was later found guilty of disorderly conduct, according to police and court records.

Arthur Zingman, 32, of the 400 block of Central Avenue, was arrested at 7:30 a.m. on May 23 at his house following an investigation into the incident at the Niles bus stop, which took place Oct. 6 of last year in the 7200 block of Conrad Avenue.

Police said he told the girl "his phone was dead and he was trying to find the nearest restaurant." As the bus arrived, nearby parent who witnessed the incident told the girl to get on the bus. The witness described the man's vehicle and police began a search of the area, but officers did not find the man or the white SUV he was driving.

On Jan. 16, police pulled over a vehicle matching the description of the SUV from the incident. Officers identified the driver, Zingman, but were unable to hold the man until the victim or witnesses could verify it was the same man. The next day, the girl and her mother both identified the driver as the man who tried to lure her.

On Jan. 18, a witness from the bus stop also identified the driver as the same man. That day, Police tried to find Zingman, formerly of Morton Grove, at a temporary address in Des Plaines, but he had already moved.

Prosecutors approved a felony arrest warrant for Zingman on Feb. 16 after to speaking with witnesses and reviewing the evidence, according to Cmdr. Robert Tornabene. The warrant was issued on Feb. 28. About three months later Niles police tracked him down to his home in Highland Park and arrested him on the warrant.

Last August, while living in Morton Grove, Zingman was arrested in Wilmette and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly exposing himself near the intersection of 11th Street and Greenwood Avenue. Wilmette police said at the time he appeared to be adjusting his pants to prepare to expose himself a second time before he was located later in the day. He pleaded guilty in February.

A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said Zingman has paid the required $15,000 cash portion of his $150,000 bail. But because it required electronic monitoring and he had no place to stay eligible for such monitoring, he remained jailed as of June 6 ahead of his next court date on June 16.