Victim's mother upset at release of suspect in Mays Landing child-luring case

“My daughter doesn't have the freedom a child her age should have,” said the mother, whose name is being withheld to protect her daughter’s identity. “A sick bastard that he is has more rights, it seems, and it's unfair.” The girl was walking to a friend's house around 11 a.m. Monday just as Aridi was leaving a house nearby, the mother said. He drove up to the girl, and began asking questions, she later told her mother. “He also took his phone out and took pictures of her as well, then told her to get in his vehicle,” the woman said. “She told him she wasn't going anywhere with him.” That’s when she ran to the home of a neighbor, who called 911 and walked the girl where she was going. Aridi came back, the woman said. “He didn't notice there were two adults standing behind a vehicle in the driveway,” the mom said. Her daughter and a friend were sitting on the lawn as they waited for police. “He pulled up and said, ‘Hey, girls,’” the mother said. That is when police showed up, as Aridi drove off. He was captured about 5 p.m. They both “are very upset about his release,” she said.
Aridi has a prior conviction related to a 2012 case in which he assaulted a police officer responding to a domestic incident in Linwood, court records show. He did 14 days in jail at that time. In 2016, he violated probation, according to records. It was not clear whether he did any jail time for that.