Trial Ordered for Suspect in Northridge Child Kidnapping, Sex Assault

Tobias Dustin Summers was ordered to return to court the end of this month and stand trial

A 32-year-old man was ordered Wednesday to stand trial in connection with the kidnapping and sexual assault of a 10-year-old Northridge girl.

San Fernando Superior Court Judge Lloyd Nash ordered Tobias Dustin Summers to return to court Oct. 30 for arraignment on 38 counts, according to Shiara Davila-Morales of the District Attorney's Office.

Summers is charged in connection with the March 27 abduction of the girl from her bedroom in the 8000 block of Oakdale Avenue.

"She was asleep in her bedroom when a man came up to her, pointed a knife at her throat and told her to come with him," Los Angeles police Detective Carla Zuniga testified during the hearing.

Police said the girl was taken to various locations in two vehicles and was sexually assaulted before being dropped off near a Woodland Hills-area hospital that afternoon. Zuniga said the girl was bound with a belt, had a sock stuffed in her mouth and was placed in the trunk of a car.

The charges against Summers include nearly three dozen sex-related counts, along with kidnapping and burglary.

Summers was arrested April 24 at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center south of Tijuana, Mexico.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck -- who announced on April 5 that Summers was seen on surveillance tape crossing a foot bridge into Mexico -- said a $25,000 reward that was "highly publicized south of the border" led to the telephone tip about Summers' whereabouts.

The police chief hailed the cooperative effort with the FBI, Mexican authorities and San Diego Police Department that led to Summers' capture. He also said he hoped the arrest sends a message.

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Daniel Martinez, who was charged along with Summers, was ordered to stand trial on two counts, according to Davila-Morales. Martinez, now 30, was charged April 3 with one count each of kidnapping and first-degree burglary.

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