Ten-year-old girl found dead after being abducted while playing with sister

The man charged with kidnapping and killing the girl is also a convicted sex offender

Antonio Monroe, who was charged with kidnapping and killing a 10-year old (Illinois State Police)

A 10-year-old girl from Illinois was found dead after being abducted while playing with her six-year-old sister.

A woman told Rockford police that her daughter came home and said a man had kidnapped her sister just after noon on Saturday, a report details.

At around 12.40pm, Rockford Police officers were flagged down by a man who said he found an unresponsive girl on the 1200 block of 9th Avenue. When the officers arrived at the scene, they performed CPR on the girl, before the fire department transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Antonio Monroe, 44, is alleged to have abducted the girl. He is a convicted sex offender, previously convicted of criminal sexual assault.

He has been charged with first degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery, and kidnapping, according to the police report.

Mr Monroe was taken into custody and will be transported to the Winnebago County Jail after being released from the hospital for an unrelated issue, the report states.

“From the time my phone rang yesterday in regards with this incident, my stomach has been in a knot,” Rockford Police Chief Carla Redd told reporters. “No one ever wants to get a knock on the door and hear from the police that your child has been murdered, especially an innocent child.”

Chief Redd added both girls were strangled, but the younger girl escaped and was treated at a hospital. She has since been released.

At a press conference, Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara described Monroe as a “real life monster.” The mayor added, “This is truly a real life nightmare and honestly probably worse than any nightmare or situation I can think of on my own.”