Ten-year-old girl found dead after being abducted while playing with sister

A 10-year-old Illinois girl has been found dead after being kidnapped while playing with her six-year-old sister.

A woman told Rockford Police that her daughter came home and said a man had kidnapped her sister just after noon on Saturday, a report said.

At around 12:40 p.m., Rockford police officers were pulled over by a man who said he found a defenseless girl on the 1200 block of 9th Avenue. When officers arrived at the scene, they performed CPR on the girl before firefighters transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Antonio Monroe, 44, is said to have kidnapped the girl. He is a convicted sex offender who previously had a criminal record for sexual assault.

According to the police report, he faces first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault and kidnapping.

Mr. Monroe was taken into custody and is being taken to the Winnebago County Jail after being discharged from the hospital on an unrelated matter, the report said.

“I’ve had an upset stomach since my phone rang yesterday regarding this incident,” Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd told reporters. “Nobody ever wants to knock on the door and hear from the police that their child has been murdered, especially an innocent child.”

Chief Redd added that both girls were strangled but the younger girl escaped and was treated at a hospital. She has since been released.

At a press conference, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara described Monroe as “a real monster.” The mayor added, “This really is a real nightmare and quite frankly probably worse than any nightmare or situation I can think of on my own.”