A pair of young brothers were abducted by a man outside a Strawberry Mansion gas station who then sexually assaulted them in two incidents minutes apart, police said.
The boys, ages 14 and 11, were taken separately by the same man on Tuesday evening from a Sunoco along the 3300 block of Ridge Avenue, Philadelphia police said. They were pumping gas at the self-serve station for money.
Detectives said a chubby, light skinned man in his 20s approached the older brother and offered money to pump gas into his gray Dodge Avenger. He told the boy, however, that he wanted to go to a nearby gas station because it had cheaper gas and asked the child to come along.
The boy followed and once inside the car was shown pornographic images on a cell phone. The man then carried out an indecent act on the boy during the drive, police said.
When they arrived at the second gas station along the 3000 block of Hunting Park Avenue in North Philadelphia, the man said he needed to use an ATM to get cash, but refused to go inside because there were too many people there. Investigators said he asked the boy to go with him to another ATM, but the boy refused and fled the car.
The boy ran to a bus stop and waited to catch a ride back to the first gas station.
In the meantime, police said the man drove back to the Strawberry Mansion Sunoco to pick up the younger brother. The man allegedly told the boy to get into the car and he would take him to his brother.
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Once the boy got into the car, the man carried out the same acts — showing porn and performing an indecent act on the boy, according to police.
The boy told police he asked to be let out of the car near Hollywood Street. The man then drove away.
Kids pumping gas for tips is common at the Sunoco. Several boys were helping to pump gas on Friday afternoon.
Police are searching for a man in his 20s with light skin, short hair with a chubby build. He had a mustache and was wearing a white shirt, red hoodie and tan pants. The 4-door Dodge Avenger was gray or silver in color and had tinted windows.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Philadelphia Police tipline at 215-686-TIPS.
