A sex offender - named Solomon Galligan - was arrested for trying to kidnap a child during recess at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado.
According to the police statement, the 33-year-old man was recorded by a security camera walking on the school field in the afternoon. Galligan managed to grab a minor, but he tripped over a blanket he was carrying and the child managed to escape. Witnesses reported that students were yelling "stranger danger" to alert them that there was an unknown person inside the facility.
The man fled and was found by agents at a nearby Walgreens thanks to a father that reported seeing him there. When questioned by the officers, he claimed to have been attacked and asked to be taken to the hospital. Already at the medical center, an officer conducted a background check and discovered that he was a registered sex offender.
Galligan had been convicted of one count of non-consensual sexual contact in 2011, specifically "grabbing, touching and groping the intimate parts of another person's body without his or her consent." The suspect was arrested for second-degree kidnapping and is being held on $25,000 bail. His trial is scheduled for Thursday.
Galligan and her gender transition in 2011
A social media search for Galligan - conducted by journalist Andy Ngo - revealed that the suspect identified as trans and was receiving hormone medication to reassign his sex in 2011. At the time, he admitted that the treatment made him feel "depressed." .
According to a Facebook post from 2011:
So I'm starting to take my hormone injections and I really can't wait. I'm taking my hormonal pills. I've been taking them for almost 4 months. I wake up depressed and crying, but in the end everything will happen. It'll be worth it, you know what I mean. I am very excited, my measurements are already changing and I am super excited.
Galligan's last update on his social media accounts is from 2018. However, his friends refer to him as "female" and he has posted numerous photos wearing wigs and makeup. Although all reports have referred to him as a man, it is unclear if he still identifies as a woman.
Andy Ngo investigates: On April 19, a male attempted to abduct a child at Black Forest Hills Elementary in Auroro, Colo. Aurora Police say that suspect is Solomon Galligan, who is a convicted sex offender. The mugshot and second-degree kidnapping arrest has gone viral, but I did… pic.twitter.com/gw7tWTpSEB
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) April 22, 2024
