ACTON, Mass. — An Acton man was arrested in the town Saturday following an alleged kidnapping that occurred Thursday night on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, city police said in a release.
That suspect, identified as 47-year-old Kamal Essalak of Acton, has been charged with kidnapping.
According to Boston Police, Essalak was driving a rideshare Thursday night when he picked up an adult woman who had requested a ride just after 8:30 p.m.
That woman later asked to be let out of the vehicle after noticing Essalak behaving strangely, BPD said. The child safety locks were activated in Essalak’s car, barring the victim from escaping the vehicle.
After the victim began to scream and bang on the car windows to try and draw attention to the scene, Essalak allegedly climbed into the back seat of the car. Boston Police allege that he was, “laughing periodically,” while doing so.
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That victim was able to escape the car after moving around Essalak and fleeing through the driver-side door. That alleged kidnapping occurred near 1139 Commonwealth Ave. in the city.
Essalak will be arraigned in Brighton District Court.
“The Boston Police Department would like to advise anyone utilizing these common ridesharing services to take an extra moment upon entering the vehicle they have requested to see if the child safety door locks have been enabled,” BPD said in its release.
“On most modern cars and SUVs, these safety locks are located on the inside panel of the rear doors, below wherever the door latch mechanism is located. They are usually quite small and made of dark-colored or black plastic making them difficult to see under darkened conditions.”
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