Man accused of putting shirtless 3-year-old child in van in West Fargo
WEST FARGO - Police arrested a 30-year-old man early today after he allegedly took a 3-year-old from a relative's home in West Fargo and put the child in a van when the child was wearing only pants with no shirt or jacket and the temperature outside was close to zero.
Police were called at 2:29 a.m. to a disturbance in the 800 block of First Street.
When officers arrived, they found the suspect standing outside the van and the child inside the van, Assistant Police Chief Mike Reitan said. The child was returned to the relative, he said.
Paul Anthony Champagne, no permanent address, was arrested on suspicion of nonviolent child neglect, resisting arrest, felonious restraint, disorderly conduct and on outstanding warrants, Reitan said.
The child apparently was in the van for less than five minutes, he said.
Police determined that Champagne was a relative but not a parent of the child, he said.
