10-year-old reports ice-cream-truck driver abducted her. But he didn’t, NY cops say

After a 10-year-old girl reported an ice-cream-truck driver abducted her in his vehicle, police in New York City began investigating.

However, “there was no abduction,” NYPD spokeswoman Lt. Jessica McRorie told McClatchy News on Sept. 5.

The man met with the child on Sunday, Sept. 4, in Staten Island after they were messaging on social media, McRorie said. The girl lied to the ice-cream-truck driver about her age, police say.

The child’s mother called police around 4:30 p.m. to report that her daughter said she was abducted by the man, PIX11 reported.

Based on the girl’s account, it was initially believed the ice-cream-truck driver forced the girl into his vehicle and drove away before she later escaped, according to the outlet.

A subsequent investigation revealed this was not the case, McRorie said.

The 20-year-old man was taken in for questioning by police, and “charges are still possible,” WABC reported.

This story was originally published September 5, 2022 at 10:47 AM with the headline "10-year-old reports ice-cream-truck driver abducted her. But he didn’t, NY cops say."

Julia Marnin

McClatchy DC

Julia Marnin covers courts for McClatchy News, writing about criminal and civil affairs, including cases involving policing, corrections, civil liberties, fraud, and abuses of power. As a reporter on McClatchy’s National Real-Time Team, she’s also covered the COVID-19 pandemic and a variety of other topics since joining in 2021, following a fellowship with Newsweek. Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, she was raised in South Jersey and is now based in New York State.