Willow Glen Resident
News
Brazen kidnapping rallies community to help girl and educate families
By Mayra Flores De Marcotte
Willow Glen residents rallied together to support the family of the 12-year-old girl who was kidnapped and then escaped Oct. 8 near the intersection of Koch Avenue and Almaden Expressway.
"The community response has been wonderful," said the family's unofficial spokeswoman, Mindy George, in an e-mail.
The Willow Glen Neighborhood Association's online e-list was buzzing with concerned residents wanting to find a way to help.
"I received a number of e-mails from members of the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association," George said.
People in the neighborhood have since donated an iPod and several books to keep the girl busy during a minimum two-month recovery period, she said.
"The family and the girl are really touched by this support," George added.
San Jose resident Donald Bachmann, 27, was booked within 48 hours of the attack on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping for the purpose of sexual assault, and attempted child molestation with force.
According to police spokesman Nick Muyo, the girl and her 9-year-old sister were crossing the street when Bachmann allegedly hit the 12-year-old girl, drove up to the next light, made a U-turn and drove back and kidnapped her.
She was able to fend off her attacker and escape. Police recovered the car and found Bachmann's fingerprints.
According to reports previously published in the Mercury News, the girl suffered a fracture to her skull and multiple fractures to her pelvis.
Although residents have offered financial support, George said that wouldn't
be necessary. Instead, a simpler form of support is preferred. Only the older sister has been hospitalized, but according to George, the younger sister was traumatized after witnessing the incident.
"It really brightens the long days for the girls when they receive cards and letters from the community," she said.
The pre-teen, who plays soccer with Blue Crush, a team that's part of the Metro PAL Youth Soccer Team, is getting a great deal of support from her team and coach. She wore No. 12, and was known for her competitive nature and was team captain during a previous season.
In a statement released Oct. 14, her teammates said they would be wearing her number on their sleeves and dedicating the rest of the season to her quick recovery.
Willow Glen business owner Arash Dibazar, owner of IMC Academy on Lincoln Avenue, was so upset when he heard the news that he opened his martial arts studio to the public on Oct. 13. The free clinic was focused on self-defense for young children.
"Parents were shook up," Dibazar said. "The natural reaction was to do something."
Dibazar wants to educate residents on how to be better prepared to defend themselves if attacked.
"We need to put it out there that this is a community that doesn't tolerate crime," Dibazar said. "We teach our children self-defense. They will fight back and scream. Criminals need to know that the community will fight back and will not accept this."
Bachmann is currently in the Santa Clara County Main Jail and the case is being reviewed by the Santa Clara County district attorney's office, Muyo said.
The kidnapping is one of the most brazen of its kind in recent memory, police said.
"This is a guy that snatched her at 4:15 p.m. in broad daylight," Muyo said. "It's pretty brazen, but thankfully, the bottom line is that we don't see many of these kinds of cases."
Letters and cards can be addressed to Blue Crush, 14938 Camden Ave, #74, San Jose 95124.
