In June 2019, 12-year-old Jada Miller was playing outside in her West Allis, Wisconsin, neighborhood when she saw something that made her blood run cold: a man was walking down the street, holding the hand of her 4-year-old neighbor, Caylee.
Instinct took over. Instead of running for an adult, Jada immediately ran after them.
"I felt that if I had stopped to like ring the doorbell and the parents were too busy doing something, they wouldn't get to the door in time, so I just went down there and did my own business," Jada later recounted, in tears, per TMJ4 News.
A man holds hands with a young girl.Canva
As Jada gave chase, another neighbor, 13-year-old Trinity Stout, saw what was happening and sprinted to alert Caylee's parents, a crucial move that showed how the neighborhood kids looked out for one another.
When Jada caught up, she heard little Caylee tell the man, "I'll be back." Jada immediately stepped in, looked directly at the man, and delivered a firm, two-word response that ended the terrifying encounter: "No, she won't."
Her brave interruption was enough to make the man release Caylee's hand and walk away.
Man walking away on sidewalk.Canva
The man was later identified as Benjamin Spasogevich-Lee, a 27-year-old who had moved into the neighborhood a few months prior. According to neighbors, he had a history of suspicious behavior. Caylee's dad, Jeff Carr, remembered one disturbing incident: "He was stripping when the bus came one day. He was stripping down to his underwear."
Carr had previously called the police on the man for harassing his wife, but admitted, "I never thought he would do something like that."
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The Aftermath
Benjamin Spasogevich-Lee was arrested and charged with abduction of a child. According to the police complaint, Caylee told her parents the man had grabbed her hand and told her to follow him. Though he denied any wrongdoing, Spasogevich-Lee was ultimately found guilty and sentenced for his actions.
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The neighborhood was shaken, but also filled with pride for the young girls who stepped up.
"I'm proud of her. I'm happy about the other kid," neighbor Bernard Baynes told Fox News. "I hope more communities can react like that; come together and be aware of what's going on."
This article originally appeared earlier this year.
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