Man Convicted of Kidnapping, Assaulting Girl, 8

An 8-year-old girl’s ability to think quickly, stay calm and pay attention to detail enabled her to escape kidnapper Curtis Dean Anderson last August, and to help convict the child molester Wednesday.

After deliberating about six hours, a Solano County jury found Anderson, 40, guilty of kidnapping and 10 sex-related charges.

Anderson plucked the dark-haired third-grader off the sidewalk last summer when she was on her way home from school. He chained her to the passenger seat of his car, refused to feed her, forced her to drink beer, wine and root beer schnapps, and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.

The girl’s ordeal ended after 44 hours when she found Anderson’s keys, unlocked herself and was rescued by a passing truck driver who noticed the little girl and guessed she was in trouble.

Anderson “was stupid and she was smart enough to know he was gone for a while. Just at that time to have a father of seven come by--everything fell together nicely,” said prosecutor Donna Stashyn.

“She did everything right from the beginning, but the biggest thing she taught us is you don’t give up,” Stashyn said in her office hours after the verdict.

The girl testified in person last week, and jurors were shown a videotaped interview made shortly after her escape.

Experts say there’s no typical way children react to sexual abuse, but they also agree the 8-year-old, whose identity is being withheld, made an astonishingly good witness.

Anderson, who faces life in prison, will be sentenced July 12.