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‘That’s him,’ girl said of driver charged in kidnap attempt

"That's him, that's the man that chased me down the street," a 10-year-old Delaware County girl told police as she identified the Penn-Delco bus driver who allegedly tried to kidnap her while she out playing on her scooter.

Gregory Cornell
Gregory CornellRead more

"That's him, that's the man that chased me down the street," a 10-year-old Delaware County girl told police as she identified the Penn-Delco bus driver who allegedly tried to kidnap her while she out playing on her scooter.

Gregory Cornell, 37, of Chester was charged with kidnapping, simple assault, stalking, harassment. terroristic threats, drug violations and other related crimes. He is being held in the Delaware Count jail on bail.

Cornell has been "suspended and relieved of duty" according to a statements released by the Penn-Delco School District.

Around 3 p.m. on Sunday, the victim, who lives in the 200 block of 9th Street in Chester, took her scooter out her house to ride to a friend's house about five doors away. She noticed a gold colored car occupied by the defendant. After finding out her friend was not home, the victim rode back in the direction of her home.

The defendant got out of his car and walked toward the child. She turned back to her friend's house and the defendant began to chase her. The girl then ran about 50-75 yards into another property and hid from Cornell. After a short while, she came out of hiding went home and told her mother who called the police, according to court documents.

Based on the description, Parkside police stopped Cornell in his 1997 Gold Infinity near 20th and Edgmont. The girl later identified Cornell as the man who pursued her. When taken into custody, Cornell had $941 and a sheriff's license in his possession, according to court documents.

Cornell has a permit to carry a firearm, according to police.

After obtaining a search warrant, police found 154 bags of suspected heroin, 1 bag of crack cocaine, $170 cash and an inflatable sex toy in the car, according to court documents.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 30th.

According to court records, Cornell has two other upcoming court dates involving alleged traffic violations. On Nov. 19 he was cited for a suspended registrations and on Dec. 27 for failure to keep right.

Contact staff writer Mari A. Schaefer at 610-313-8111, mschaefer@phillynews.com or @MariSchaefer on Twitter.