Man Accused of Abducting North Texas Girl Pleads Not Guilty

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A man who authorities say abducted a young girl as she walked with her mother along a North Texas street has pleaded not guilty to a federal kidnapping charge.
Fifty-one-year-old Michael Webb entered the plea Monday in federal court in Fort Worth.
Webb previously submitted documents indicating he planned to plead guilty but did not enter a plea at a hearing last week, leading a grand jury to then indict Webb.
The 8-year-old girl was grabbed May 18 and police acting on a tip searched Webb's hotel room early the next morning. The child wasn't found but police later returned and found her then.
A Forest Hill police sergeant who went to the room both times was fired for displaying what his police chief described as "ineptitude."
Webb has been in custody since his arrest.