A Falls Church man has been arrested for soliciting sex from a 12-year-old Bethesda girl, police said.
Nathan Samuel Portnoy, 23, was arrested on a warrant charging him with first-degree assault, kidnapping of a child under 16, and sexual solicitation of a minor, according to Montgomery County police. He was in custody in Virginia on Friday, pending extradition to Montgomery County.
For about three months, Portnoy and the victim had a relationship online and over the phone. The girl pretended to be an adult in online conversations, and Portnoy suggested the two meet after they had telephone conversations where he discussed having sex with her.
On Aug. 24 at about 5:30 p.m., Portnoy and the girl played soccer at a park in Bethesda. Portnoy suggested that they have dinner and the victim went in his car. But they didn't get very far before the victim asked Portnoy to stop the vehicle and she exited it.
Family members of the girl who were driving in the area saw the girl leave the vehicle. They started following the vehicle, and Portnoy pointed a gun at the relatives through the vehicle's back window, police said.
Portnoy was arrested on Aug. 25 near his home. On Thursday, police searched his car and found a loaded handgun, ammunition, gun holsters, handcuffs, zip ties, rope, a black ski mask, and several boxes of condoms.
