City of Groton Police have arrested a convicted sex offender accused of attempting to kidnap a teenager last month.
On Friday, detectives arrested 34-year-old Matthew Klotz, of Stonington, after police say he attempted to abduct a 16-year-old girl in the City of Groton on June 25.
Police said they received a 911 call around 3:10 p.m. from the victim who said she was walking down Shore Avenue near South Prospect Street when a man hiding in the bushes grabbed her and tried to force her into a car. The victim said the vehicle was waiting along the road with the passenger door already opened.
"He was in the hedge. His body was in the hedge and the car door was right there, so that girl couldn't go anywhere but in that truck. And that's where he was pushing her," said Jean Strickland.
Strickland said she and her granddaughter, Katie Tuohy, were in a car stopped at a stop sign on South Prospect Street when they saw a man grab the victim. Strickland said she rolled down the window to see what was going on.
"We asked if she was OK and she said 'no.' And I guess the guy shoved her and she came running to our car, and Katie let her in the back seat," said Strickland in a previous interview.
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"I said, 'Do you know that man?' and she said, 'No.' And I said, 'Call 911.'"
Strickland said the truck sped off and she tried to follow to get a license plate but soon lost the vehicle. She says they drove to the police department.
On Friday Strickland expressed relief that a suspect was in custody, but said the situation was scary.
"Finally he’s off the street so that’s really good. I hope he never comes out," she said.
Prior to the arrest, detectives executed search and seizure warrants for Klotz and his vehicle.
Klotz was detained by Adult Parole and Probation of the State of Connecticut as the warrant was drafted. It was approved on Tuesday and a habeas was obtained to arraign and serve it on Friday.
Klotz is a convicted sex offender listed on the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry, and has a criminal history that stretches through his entire adult life.
He pled guilty to second-degree burglary for a break-in when he was 16, in 2000. He was given a seven year suspended sentence with four years probation. Then, in 2012, he was sentenced to prison for a 2011 attempted abduction in Rhode Island.
Evidence from the crime scene was expedited for DNA analysis at the request of Groton City Police due to the clear and present danger to the public that this crime presented, officers said.
Klotz is facing charges including unlawful restraint and kidnapping and has a $500,000 bond.
