Crime & Safety
Child Abduction Attempt Prompts VA Governor's Attack On Fairfax Prosecutor
The arrest record of a man accused of abducting a toddler from a NoVA mall was cited in Gov. Youngkin's criticism of the Fairfax prosecutor.
FAIRFAX, VA — A suspect released from jail three days before he attempted to abduct a child at Fair Oaks Mall prompted Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin to criticize Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Steve Descano on social media.
"A repeat offender was let out of jail in Fairfax County three days before he was caught on camera attempting to abduct a 3-year-old little girl in broad daylight," the governor said Friday in an X post. "There is a shocking and unforgivable pattern in Fairfax County of releasing criminals back onto Virginia’s streets. The Commonwealth’s Attorney cares more about protecting criminals than about keeping children safe."
The Republican governor said he was calling on Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R), who is running for reelection in November, to open a full investigation against Descano, a Democrat, for his repeated failures.
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Patch reached out to Descano for comment. This story will be updated with his response.
Court records show that while the accused abductor had been arrested seven times since Descano took office in January 2020, none of those offenses involved abduction or children.
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The suspect in question was 26-year-old Andres Caceres-Jaldin of Chantilly, who Fairfax County Police arrested on July 18 for trying to abduct a child who had wandered away from her parent at a mall play area. The girl's mother rescued the child after confronting Caceres-Jaldin in a store at the mall.
Although Caceres-Jaldin fled the scene, police arrested him later that day outside an extended stay hotel in Chantilly, charging him with abduction of a child and grand larceny for stealing a vehicle from a nearby auto repair shop.
On July 24, Caceres-Jaldin was also charged for violating the terms of a July 15 bail agreement, which is the case Youngkin cites in his X post.
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Three days before police arrested Caceres-Jaldin for the mall incident, he was released on bond from the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center following a July 2 traffic violation, according to court records. He was charged with reckless driving, which is a Class 1 misdemeanor, and failing to stop for an accident when an injury is involved, which is a felony.
Caceres-Jaldin has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 23 in that case.
Since Jan. 1, 2020, Caceres-Jaldin has been arrested a total of eight times. With the exception of the abduction of a child charge filed on July 18, none of the seven other incidents involved children or an abduction.
Most of the charges were for destruction of property or traffic violations, which were either dismissed or the prosecutor declined to prosecute (nolle prosequi).
| Offense Date | Charges | Status |
| July 18, 2025 | Abduction of child (felony); grand larceny - Auto theft (felony) | Preliminary hearing (Oct. 20, 2025); In custody |
| July 2, 2025 | Failure to stop for accident with injury (felony); reckless driving (misdemeanor); bailee violation of pretrial conditions (misdemeanor) | Preliminary hearing (Sept. 23, 2025); released on bond (July 15, 2025); In custody (July 18/2025) |
| Feb. 21, 2025 | Failure to appear for scheduled status hearing. | Nolle Prosequi: Apri 15, 2025 |
| May 7, 2024 | Destruction of property of less than $1,000 with intent (misdemeanor) | Nolle Proequi: Aug. 27, 2024 |
| April 7, 2024 | Assault & battery of a family member - three counts (misdemeanor); malicious wounding (felony); attempted malicious wounding (felony) | Nolle Prosequi: April 15, 2025 |
| March 3, 2024 | Destruction of property of less than $1,000 with intent; assault and battery of a family member - two counts (misdemeanor) | Nolle Prosequi/Dissmissed Denied: Apri 15, 2025 |
| Sept. 27, 2021 | Destruction of property greater than $1,000 (felony); Destruction of property - malicious shooting/throwing at train/car (felony-reclassified as misdemeanor) | Guilty - paid $92 in court costs; 90-day sentence suspended (May 3, 2022) |
| Feb. 15, 2021 | Destruction of property of less than $1,000 with intent - two charges | Dismissed (May 25, 2021) |
Between April 2024 and May, 2024, Caceres-Jaldin was arrested on multiple assault of a family member charges, but those charges were either dismissed or not prosecuted.
Caceres-Jaldin was found guilty of destruction of property greater than $1,000 and a malicious shooting/throwing at a train or car for a Sept. 25, 2021 incident. Although the charges were both felonies, they were knocked down to misdemeanors and the judge suspended the defendant's 90 day sentence, ordering him to pay $92 in court costs.
In 2021 and 2022, Caceres-Jaldin was arrested in Prince William County on destruction of property charges. Since that's outside Fairfax County prosecutor's jurisdiction, the governor can't really hold him accountable for the disposition of those charges.
A repeat offender was let out of jail in Fairfax County three days before he was caught on camera attempting to abduct a 3-year-old little girl in broad daylight. There is a shocking and unforgivable pattern in Fairfax County of releasing criminals back onto Virginia’s streets…
— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) August 1, 2025
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