Police: Man Arrested In Attempted Child Lurings In Northeast Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police have made an arrest in connection to multiple child lurings that were reported in Northeast Philadelphia last week.
On Monday, police arrested 35-year-old Marwan Deeb and charged him with four counts of luring of a child into a motor vehicle and four counts of corruption of a minor in relation.
Police say Deeb surrendered Monday night.
Police tied Deeb to six open cases, where they say he would offer cash to entice children to get in.
"At this time, he's charged with four counts of luring a child which is a felony of the second degree and counts of corrupting the morals of a child, a felony of the third degree," said Philadelphia Police Capt. Mark Burgmann.
According to police, the first incident occurred last Tuesday on the 400 block of Tomlinson Road around 3 p.m. when children told police they were approached by a Hispanic man in a black vehicle. They say the man offered them cash to get into the car and that's when they ran away. The car the suspect was driving was a black SUV with damage to the front bumper, broken headlight, tinted windows, with one black wheel and three silver wheels.
Deeb is also accused of an attempted luring on Friday on the 4900 block of Ditman Street. Police say a man pulled up next to a 10-year-old girl, showed her money and asked if he could take her photo. She ran to school and told an adult what happened. The suspect in that incident is described as a Hispanic man with black hair, a beard, wearing a black shirt, driving a black car with black-tinted windows.
Ten minutes after that, around 8:10 a.m. on the 5300 block of Jackson Street, a 10-year-old girl reported an identical encounter.
Three other attempted lurings were also reported in Northeast Philadelphia last week. Police have not charged Deeb in those crimes.
Investigators are holding off on releasing Deeb's mugshot, saying they're still interviewing witnesses and potential victims using photo lineups.
Detectives say the tracked Deeb down by reviving an open case from February -- one that had similarities to last week's incidents.
"There was a suspect at that time in that case. Unfortunately, he was not identified. That was our suspect," explained Burgmann. "When we went out and showed photos, he was positively identified by our complainants as the offender, and it just fit. He also has a vehicle that matches exactly the description that was given."
Deeb had a minor record and no previous sex offenses.
He is being held on $200,000 bail.
