Florida churchgoers helped save two young girls from being abducted after one of the victims mouthed “help me, this is not my dad,” authorities said.
The two girls, both aged under 12, were leaving a restaurant outside Tampa on Sunday night when 37-year-old David Daniels approached them and said he’d “supervise” their walk home, FOX13 reported.
Daniels allegedly started hitting one of the girls over the head multiple times and continued to follow them, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
The girls, who didn’t know Daniels, then jumped on their bikes and rode towards a nearby church to ask for help.
Daniels is accused of following the girls into the church and claiming they were his daughters.
At one point, he allegedly put one of the girls in a headlock.
“One of the little girls was mouthing to me, ‘Please help me, this is not my dad,’” a woman, who was inside the church but didn’t want to be named, said.
“He was kind of talking over her, right behind her, putting his arm around her neck and saying something in her ear, saying, ‘We just moved here, we just want to see how we can help do whatever you’re doing,'” she said.
The churchgoers managed to keep engaging with the Daniels until they were able to call 911.
Daniels was taken into custody near the church and charged with child abuse and false imprisonment of a child.
He is being held at the Hillsborough County Jail on a $104,000 bond.