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Deputies arrest man who tried kidnapping student

Posted at 1:49 AM, Mar 25, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-25 14:32:14-04

A 38-year-old man was charged with kidnapping after he grabbed and held a South Fort Myers student against her will in the school’s parking lot in January.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office report said an 18-year-old female South Fort Myers High School Student was sitting in her car before school when Jonathan Schofield opened the passenger door to her car and got in.

When the girl repeatedly asked why he was in her car, Schofield stared at her.

The victim began crying and got out of her car.

The report then said Schofield approached her from behind, grabbing and holding her against his body despite her telling him to let her go.

He demanded her to calm down and get back inside the car, only letting go when another student parked nearby.

That student backed up the victim's story, and both picked Schofield out of a lineup.

Parents were alarmed to hear about this story and worried about the safety of their children, but were also confused as to why they were not notified of this situation.

“When our children are not safe at school, that’s just amazing and frightening and my heart skips a beat. That’s unbelievable first of all. So scary. And we didn’t know anything about it, that’s the other thing. Why didn’t we know anything about this?” Cheryl Barnett, who has a son at South Fort Myers High School, said.

Fox 4 reached out to the Lee County School District spokesperson to find out why parents weren’t notified, but the office was closed.

We will update this story when we hear back.