Police: Girl, 5, Abducted From Home Was Sexually Assaulted

Philadelphia police now say the 5-year-old girl abducted from a North Philadelphia home by an intruder was also sexually assaulted.

The incident happened Tuesday morning in the Hartranft section of the city. Cops say a man entered a home on N. Hutchinson Street through a window and took the girl. The victim told police the man took her by the hand, led her outside and began kicking and punching her in the home’s backyard.

“He left her out there to die, but she’s strong. She’s very strong,” her 29-year-old mother told Action News, which first reported the sexual assault. A bulletin released by the Philadelphia Police Department’s special victims unit yesterday says the man fled in an unknown direction after assaulting the girl.

The mother woke up Tuesday morning and realized her daughter was no longer in the house. She found her in the backyard, beaten and bloodied. The girl was taken to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and treated for serious facial injuries. She told police she did not recognize her attacker.

The mom told Action News the is worried the attacker is still out there in the neighborhood. Police ask anyone with information about the assault to contact them. The tip line number is 215.686.8477. Tips can also be texted to 773847 or submitted using this online form.