Teen charged in abduction, sexual assault of 12-year-old girl in Philly neighborhood

Teen charged in abduction, sexual assault of 12-year-old girl in Philly

A 17-year-old will be charged with rape, contact with a minor and similar offenses, for the abduction and sexual assault of 12-year-old girl in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA - A 17-year-old boy has been charged with rape after investigators say he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl who was inside a vehicle he stole in Philadelphia.

The unnamed teenager was taken into custody Thursday morning at his home in West Philadelphia, authorities announced on Thursday. 

What we know:

Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the 1300 block of W Erie Avenue last Saturday night for reports of a stolen car and abduction.

Investigators say someone stole a 2010 Ford Taurus that was left running with a 12-year-old girl asleep in the backseat.

Police found the car abandoned a short time later on the 5400 block of Poplar Street with the young girl still inside the vehicle. 

Investigators soon learned that the 12-year-old had been sexually assaulted by the person who stole the vehicle, described as a thin Black man in dark clothes.

Less than a week after the incident, authorities arrested and charged a 17-year-old whose DNA was allegedly found on evidence collected from inside the car.

Special Victims Unit Captain Margo Alleyne-Parker said the teen was charged rape, contact with a minor and related charges.

Dig deeper:

"She was transported to a hospital for evaluation and was able to provide investigators with a detailed account of what transpired in that vehicle," said Captain Margo Alleyne-Parker, Commanding Officer of the Philadelphia Police Department’s Special Victims Unit. "I will say she’s very smart, she’s very intelligent, and she’s one brave little girl."

Police say it was an automated license plate reader that detected the stolen vehicle in the area of 54th and Poplar Streets. Officers recovered it, executed a search warrant, and gathered evidence that was tested for DNA, and it resulted in a positive DNA hit.

Police say the victim identified the 17-year-old in a photo array and he was arrested at his West Philadelphia home this morning.

"I would love for him to be charged as an adult," says Captain Alleyne-Parker.

Hours after police announced this morning that the 17-year-old would be charged with rape, contact with a minor and similar offenses, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office said they could not comment, because the case will remain in the juvenile system.

Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29, back in February 2023, when the now 17-year-old was just 14-years-old, he was charged in connection with six incidents, including five sexual assaults, in the span of a month, at least one of them caught on surveillance video.

Before his arrest, the SVU Captain at the time, James Kearney, said, "We want to get him before this escalates to an actual rape."

What we don't know:

Authorities did not share the identity of the teenage suspect and did not say if he will be charged as an adult.

What they're saying:

Teen arrested in abduction, sexual assault of 12-year-old girl in Philly neighborhood

A 17-year-old boy has been charged with rape after investigators say he sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl who was inside a vehicle he stole in Philadelphia.

Captain Alleyne-Parker described the 12-year-old victim as a "brave little girl" during a press conference Thursday to announce the arrest.

"She's going through the motions, the challenges, but I will say she's very smart, very intelligent and she's one brave little girl," she said.

It's believed that the car theft turned sexual assault was a "crime of opportunity," and investigators have urged people not to leave their cars running.

"It's believed that this was a crime of opportunity at that moment, it's just unfortunate that our survivor was in the back seat at that time," Alleyne-Parker said.