Man freed from jail 3 days before alleged toddler abduction in Virginia, Youngkin says

Three days after walking free from jail, a repeat offender was caught on camera trying to snatch a toddler from her family at a Virginia mall, prompting Gov. Glenn Youngkin to condemn the county’s soft-on-crime policies.

“There is a shocking and unforgivable pattern in Fairfax County of releasing criminals back onto Virginia’s streets instead of keeping them behind bars,” Youngkin wrote on X. “The Commonwealth’s Attorney cares more about protecting criminals than about keeping children safe.”

“Fairfax County parents should be horrified,” Youngkin said.

Following Youngkin’s post, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares also took to X, saying his office “will examine the facts and report to the people of Fairfax why CA Descano’s [Commonwealth Attorney Steve Descano] refusal to prosecute criminals has been allowed to endanger the public.”

a court’s decision to allow a defendant to be released from custody without having to post bail, based on their promise to appear in court.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the offices of Youngkin and Descano for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report.