Cops are on the hunt for a suspect who abducted and assaulted a 12-year-old girl left sleeping in the backseat of a car as her mother was getting a cheesesteak Friday night in Philadelphia, according to a local report.
Officers responded to a report of an abduction in progress at Germantown and Erie Avenues around 9:30 p.m., the Philadelphia Police Department said.
The 12-year-old girl had been sleeping in the backseat of a 2010 white Ford Taurus while the keys were still in the car’s ignition when an unidentified person then got into the car and drove off, police said.
Police were able to locate the girl just before 10 p.m. less than five minutes down the road, at Broad Street and Roosevelt Boulevard.
The girl told police officers she was sexually assaulted. She was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment and evaluation, police said.
Cindy Campbell, who manages a nearby business, told Fox 29 the mother was getting a cheesesteak at the time her daughter was abducted.
“Parents need to be more aware of what they’re doing with their children,” Campbell said. “I had twins and I was a young mom and I still never left my kids in the car running. I had the key, and I woke them up and took the with me. I knew better than to leave my kids in the car running. Never.”
Leonard Greher, who also works at a nearby Dominos, said there was a massive police presence as authorities searched for the girl.
“It was a lot of cops out here last night it was very busy,” Greher said. “It’s wrong that somebody stole the car and assaulted her – that’s bad.”
The shocking assault was the third time in three weeks that a vehicle has been stolen in Philadelphia after a parent left the car running with a child in the backseat, according to Fox 29.
In the two other incidents, police said the suspects abandoned the stolen cars and the children were left unharmed.
Police are still searching for the suspect involved in the most recent attack. They described him as a man with a thin build wearing all dark clothing.
The stolen white Ford Taurus has also not yet been recovered, police said.
