Fire inspector kidnaps, tries to assault 13-year-old who missed bus, MN cops say

A 73-year-old fire inspector kidnapped a girl who he offered to drive to her school, then tried to sexually assault her in his apartment, Minnesota authorities say.

The 13-year-old victim told St. Paul police officers she was late for her bus to school on May 21, so she began walking in the rain, according to a statement of probable cause filed in Ramsey County.

She approached a medical clinic and was planning to ask for help inside when she encountered James Allen Thomas, who was sitting in an SUV in the parking lot, police said.

Thomas asked the girl “if she needed any help,” according to the court documents, and she replied that she needed a ride to her school.

Because Thomas was wearing a uniform with his name embroidered on it and having “a radio like a police officer,” the girl believed he was a security officer, authorities said.

Instead of driving the girl to her middle school, he went to his apartment, where he brought her inside and locked the door behind them, police said.

The girl was motioned to go to his bedroom, and she sat on his bed, according to the court documents. He came into the room and “tried pulling her knees apart,” and she believed he was trying to touch her “intimate area,” police said.

She prevented Thomas from touching her further, authorities said, adding that she denied the man’s offer of $50 “for her to take off her clothes and let him touch her.”

Police said Thomas then drove the girl to her school, at which point she confided with a staff member.

“(The victim) said she was scared and wanted to cry the entire time she was with Thomas,” according to police. “She got out of the car as soon as she could and instantly started crying.”

Thomas identified himself to the staff member as a “sergeant with the St. Paul Fire Department,” police said.

The fire department, however, does not have an employee of his name, KMSP reported. Instead, Thomas is employed as a fire inspector with the City of St. Paul.

McClatchy News reached out to the city for more information June 9 and is awaiting a response.

Thomas was arrested June 5, and while in police custody, he admitted to giving the girl a ride to school, according to the court documents. He denied touching the girl and asking to see her naked.

He claimed he did go to his apartment with the girl, but he said she remained inside the car, police said.

“Thomas denied that it took him approximately 45 minutes to travel 6.5 miles, despite being told that the surveillance video from the clinic and the school, as well as his own cell phone data shows that to be true,” police said. “He also denied shutting off both his cell phones after leaving the clinic parking lot with (the victim) and heading toward his apartment, despite cell phone data for both phone(s) showing he did so.”

Court documents show Thomas was charged with kidnapping, attempted criminal sexual conduct of a victim under 14 and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

This story was originally published June 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Fire inspector kidnaps, tries to assault 13-year-old who missed bus, MN cops say."