A man stole a car with a 12-year-old girl inside and sexually assaulted her Friday night in North Philadelphia, police said.
Officers were called for a report of an abduction at around 9:30 p.m. at Germantown and Erie avenues, according to investigators. They were told that the child was asleep in the backseat of a car that had been left running with the keys in the ignition, authorities added.
Police found the girl just before 10 p.m. less than a mile away, at the corner of Broad Street and Roosevelt Boulevard. She was transported to a local hospital to be evaluated for a sexual assault, according to the PPD.
The suspect had not been apprehended, as of Sunday. Police described him as a Black man with a thin build who was wearing dark clothing. Investigators are also searching for the stolen car, a 2010 white Ford Taurus, which has not been recovered.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the PPD’s Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251 or call or text the police tip line at 215-686-TIPS (8477).
A somewhat similar car theft/abduction happened early Friday morning, at around 12:05 a.m., on Pulaski Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia, when a suspect hopped into a running Toyota Camry and drove away with a 6-year-old boy sleeping inside, investigators said.
In that case, the child was not harmed, and he was found with the vehicle on nearby Chelten Avenue, according to authorities. No arrests were reported in the immediate aftermath of the incident.
