Northeast teen retracts
her abduction claim

A Northeast Philadelphia teen has recanted a claim that an unknown man abducted her last week from the Lawncrest Recreation Center and that he threatened her not to testify in a pending rape case against another man, police said.
The 14-year-old girl initially claimed that a man grabbed her from the area of Rising Sun Avenue and Comly Street at about 9 p.m. on March 17. The abductor, a heavyset man in his 30s, forced her into a white van and drove her to an unknown location, she had claimed.
The suspect allegedly held the girl in a house until early the next morning and threatened her with harm if she testified in a statutory rape case against a 37-year-old man accused of having sex with her on previous occasions, police said.
Eventually the girl telephoned a parent, who reported the suspected abduction to police.
Local news media reported the initial claim, but police detectives later determined that the abduction never took place. The girl has not been charged with any crimes for making the unfounded claims.
Police did not release the name of the 37-year-old man who is accused of having sex with the girl or details of their relationship and his arrest. ••