Cops: Man charged in South Philadelphia abduction attempt

Cops on Thursday morning nabbed the man they say was caught on video attempting to abduct a 10-year-old girl as she walked in her South Philadelphia neighborhood with her 2-year-old brother Tuesday afternoon.

Carlos Figueroa-Fagot, 33, surrendered to police in the East Detective Division around midnight Thursday and was directed to the Special Victims Unit before being temporarily released, police said.

Figueroa-Fagot and his relatives knew surveillance of the incident had been released by police, SVU Capt. John Darby said at a press conference Thursday.

Figueroa-Fadot "felt that he could not walk, talk or breathe out on the streets," Darby said.

Cops formally arrested Figueroa-Fagot around 9:30 a.m. at his home near 8th Street and Allegheny Avenue in North Philadelphia Darby said. Figueroa-Fagot was charged with a slew of offenses including attempted kidnapping, aggravated indecent assault and false imprisonment.

Darby said the suspect talked with his family about the incident and was directed by a former pastor to go to the police. When he surrendered, he showed up flanked by relatives, cops said.

The arrest came the day after city officials announced that they were offering a $10,000 reward for the capture and conviction of the suspect.

Jarring surveillance video of the abduction attempt released Wednesday showed a man pulling a white car up next to the young victim and her brother as they walk on Porter Street near Lee. As they turn the corner onto Lee, the man gets out of his car and follows the children on foot. The video then shows that the suspect attempting to pick the girl up and dropping her after she struggles to get away.

While police said the incident appeared to be a random act, Figueroa-Fagot had several run-ins with police in Puerto Rico from 2000 to 2006 and had one incident in Philadelphia last year in which he was accused by a family member of sexual assault of a juvenile, authorities said. The charges, however, were dropped earlier this month when the alleged victim and her mother said that they had made up the accusations, District Attorney Seth Williams said.