DRAMATIC video of a child being kidnapped off a street last month in a Chicago suburb has been released by the FBI as charges were filed against an Indiana man.

The FBI’s Chicago field office said the incident took place on December 20 around 3.30pm in Calumet City, around 30 miles south of Chicago. Investigators did not reveal the girl’s age.

In the video, a man identified by prosecutors as Bryan Protho is seen standing near a red SUV in an alley as a young girl, who is blurred in the video, walks by him on the sidewalk.

Protho is then allegedly seen grabbing the girl, putting her in the car, and driving away from the scene.

The US Attorney’s Office said in a news release on Friday that Protho then parked the vehicle in an alley and assaulted the child.

The girl was then able to escape and flag down a passing vehicle. Prosecutors said the driver who stopped for the girl contacted law enforcement.

The FBI noted that the time stamp on the video released on Friday displayed the wrong date, but captured the December kidnapping.

Protho, 38, of East Chicago, Indiana, was arrested on December 27 and charged on Friday with one count of kidnapping. He remains in federal custody, the US Attorney’s Office said.

He will next appear before a judge for his arraignment on February 20 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The FBI’s Chicago bureau said they released the video as part of an ongoing investigation to see if the vehicle may be connected to any other crimes.

Anyone with information regarding the vehicle or suspect seen in the video is asked to contact the FBI Chicago Field office at (312) 421-6700 or chicago@fbi.gov.