District Attorney Larry Krasner said the city's use of a cash bail system led to the release of Keon King, who is accused of abducting Kada Scott earlier this month.
Scott, 23, went missing on Oct. 4 and has yet to be found, and King was arrested and charged with kidnapping and reckless endangerment on Tuesday. During a news conference Friday, Krasner said a key issue in the case was King's access to a large amount cash, which allowed him to pay bail and be released following a similar case with a different woman months earlier.
MORE: Man charged with kidnapping Kada Scott, the East Mount Airy woman who disappeared in early October
In April, King, 21, was arrested and charged with kidnapping and strangulation, the second time he was taken into custody that year. Krasner said his office asked for a $999,999 bail, but a judge set it at $200,000. Typically, bondsmen post a 10% non-refundable fee for posting bail, and King was able to pay $20,000 "almost immediately" and was released.
The alleged victim and an eyewitness failed to appear in court on two separate occasions, resulting in the charges being withdrawn. They have since been refiled following Scott's disappearance.
"This is what we've been talking about for a long time, it's not just whether or not he's in custody immediately," Krasner said Friday. "It's also, 'What is the situation of a victim of domestic violence who has to go to court, knowing that the defendant will walk out the same door she came in?'"
Krasner added that his office has information that has led them to believe there were additional incidents involving King. He remains in custody with bail set at $2.5 million.
Given the previous charges against King, Krasner said the District Attorney's Office could have asked for a bail modification but decided against it.
"You have an option of trying to do what is often a midnight or 3 o'clock in the morning telephonic appeal to a municipal court judge," Krasner said. "The unfortunate reality is that some, but not all, of these judges don't want you calling in the middle of the night. And if you do, they lower the bail, they don't raise it, they don't leave it, they lower it. So it's always a complex strategic decision."
In his bid for reelection, Krasner said he plans to implement alternatives to cash bail for people charged with nonviolent crimes, which would include monitoring and check-ins. However, those charged with violent offenses would remain held. His campaign website said there are thousands of people in Philadelphia prisons who have not been convicted but remain in jail for over three months because they can't afford bail.
In this case, Krasner said preventing King from making bail "could have made all the difference in the world" in what happened to Scott.
"I don't say that to say that's the whole story, it's not, but it is part of the story," Kranser said. "It is a part of the story that would be remedied if we got away from this, frankly, nutty notion that bail is a good way to deal with these situations. Someone profoundly dangerous should be held."
On Wednesday, videos posted on TikTok show a man believed to be King walking up to a home and looking inside. The clips were allegedly taken a few hours before the first kidnapping and assault of an unnamed woman in January. Police also reportedly had body-camera footage of interviews with the woman involved and the eyewitness following the incident. On Friday, Krasner said prosecutors could have moved forward with the case just based on the video evidence, though he called it a "sophisticated approach" and said it's "not usually an easy thing to do."
Krasner is running for his third term as district attorney in November's election. He defeated Pat Dugan in the Democratic primary, but Dugan is now running against Krasner as a Republican in the general election. Dugan, a former municipal court judge, released a statement Friday criticizing how Kranser's office handled King's earlier case, calling it "gross negligence."