The St. Paul man charged with abducting and sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl in May was ruled incompetent to stand trial.

Ramsey County District Court Judge Gary Bastian adopted the findings in a hearing Monday afternoon, and moved that August J. Ruthaferd, also known as Mark S. Meihofer, 48, be civilly committed instead. He had been charged with kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault for the May 5 incident.

Several supporters of the young girl and her family attended the hearing and declined to comment afterward.

According to charges filed against Ruthaferd: The girl was with her father, who was checking on a rental property in the 300 block of Dayton Avenue. She was out of her father's sight for a minute when she was allegedly kidnapped by Ruthaferd about 6:45 p.m.

Several witnesses told police that they had seen a man in the area "acting strangely." About two hours after the girl was taken, police traced her to a Catholic Charities residence about a block away in the 200 block of Marshall Avenue.

An employee at the front desk told police that Ruthaferd had brought the girl to his room. Surveillance video also showed him carrying her into the lobby.

Police found the girl in his room, gagged and her wrists bound with tape. She later tested positive for amphetamine.

Chao Xiong