Police: Boston man facing kidnapping, assault charges after going to home and grabbing child by neck

A Boston man is facing kidnapping and assault charges after police said he walked up to a home on the Fourth of July, grabbed a child by the back of the neck and tried to drag the boy to the street.

Manuel Cardoso, 44, is charged with assault and battery on a child under 14 and kidnapping following the incident on Thursday afternoon, police said.

Officers arrested Cardoso around 4:13 p.m. Thursday, after responding to Wentworth Street for a report of a suspicious person.

Witnesses told police that there was a gathering at a home and an unknown man, later identified as Cardoso, walked up the driveway. He then tried to urinate on the side of the house, and began talking with a few children.

Witnesses told police the suspect, who was not known to the people at the home, was asked to leave the area.

He then grabbed a child by the back of the neck, and tried to drag him towards the street, police said.

“The suspect had to be physically removed from the property and he fled the scene,” police said in a statement on Friday.

With the suspect’s description, officers later found Cardoso in the area of Darlington Street, and arrested him, police said.

He is expected to be arraigned in Dorchester District Court.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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