11/02/2005

The Saratogian (Saratoga, NY)
By JIM KINNEY

Police: Alleged abductor planned to transport girl

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY-- A Connecticut man accused of trying to kidnap a 17-year-old girl in a Saratoga Springs High School parking lot Monday evening planned to take her to another location, police said.

'For what purpose? It would be unfair to speculate,' said a somber Police Chief Edward Moore Tuesday morning following John F. Regan's arraignment on attempted kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment charges. 'We had a happy ending in this case. She got away.'

Moore said items found in the 2001 Ford Windstar van Regan was using led investigators to think that Regan planned to take the girl somewhere. He wouldn't identify the items.

Police in Connecticut told media there that Regan had a tarp and rope with him in the van.

'It appears that we have an organized offender,' Moore said. 'He planned this.'

Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III said investigators believe the victim, a 17-year-old senior on the cross country team who they are not naming, was selected at random.

'The crime was planned, the 'to whom' was random,' Murphy said. 'There is no indication, at this point, he knew who she was. There is no indication she was stalked.'

Regan, who turns 49 Thursday, is facing trials in Connecticut for the 1993 rape of a woman in her home and the 2004 attempted rape of one of his employees.

He was free on $350,000 bail awaiting trial on those cases Monday when he came to Saratoga Springs to work on a construction job, Murphy III said. He is now in the Saratoga County Jail without bail.

Regan owns ABC Roofing and Siding in Waterbury, Conn.

Regan said nothing during his court appearance Tuesday. Lawyer John Carusone of Saratoga Springs, Regan's attorney for Tuesday's hearing only, did all of the talking on his behalf. Carusone and Murphy met behind closed doors with Judge Douglas Mills for 20 minutes.

According to media in Connecticut, Carusone is Regan's uncle. When contacted Tuesday night, Carusone replied 'no comment.'

Regan, a stocky man at 5-feet-10-inches tall and 200 pounds, seemed to have trouble walking, even considering that he was in shackles with his hands cuffed and chained to his waist. He waited in court with his eyes closed and his head bowed, chin to chest. Sometimes he picked at his cuticles. But he never made eye contact with courtroom spectators.

The Saratoga Springs High School cross county team is the subject of several Web sites and Internet chat rooms where online monitors often must remove objectionable, even sexual, content.

Police received complaints this past spring of someone following cross country runners on their practice trips through Saratoga Spa State Park. Police Lt. Gary Forward said Tuesday that that person was identified but not prosecuted, and the case was resolved. That has nothing to do with this incident, he said.

'I haven't heard of similar reports recently,' Forward said.

Police are still investigating Monday's kidnapping attempt.

'We're checking into his movements, where he's been, what he's been doing, how he's been spending his money,' Moore said. 'We still have a lot of work to do.'

There are four search warrants in this case. One is for the van Regan was driving. It has Massachusetts plates, and police believe he had it honestly.

Moore said state police evidence technicians started combing that van Monday night and continued Tuesday. A state police investigator brought a box, presumably containing evidence, to the city police station Tuesday morning.

No one would say what the other three search warrants are for. One likely includes Regan's home in Waterbury.

Police said he had not gotten a place to stay in Saratoga Springs.

State police are looking into whether Regan could be connected to other crimes in New York state.

The victim was walking by herself to her car through a crowded parking lot near the school's gym and track at about 5:30 p.m. Monday. Police said Regan came up from behind her and tried to drag her into the van. The girl screamed and kicked her way free before shutting herself inside her own car.

Two teachers confronted Regan, delaying him for a time, Moore said. That was crucial to allow police, already summoned by 911, time to respond.

Cross country coach Art Kranick got into his car and followed Regan a few blocks to Beekman Street, where police took Regan into custody without incident.

'He was never out of eyesight from our witnesses,' Moore said. 'This school is a close-knit community. 'It's the nice thing about Saratoga.'

Superintendent of Schools John MacFadden praised the heroism of the coaches and teachers who acted Monday night.

'We had a lot of people who did exactly what they are supposed to do,' he said.

Regan is in Saratoga County Jail without bail awaiting another court date. If convicted, he could face 3 1/2 to 15 years in state prison.