A 23-year-old homeless man was arrested yesterday morning in the attempted rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in the bathroom of a Philadelphia public library, police said.
The girl, who was assaulted Saturday afternoon, remained in critical condition last night at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Police said she had regained consciousness and was improving.
Brian McCutcheon was a regular at the Independence Branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, near Seventh and Market Streets, police said. According to authorities, he told a friend about the crime, and the friend tipped off investigators. McCutcheon was picked up on Broad Street in North Philadelphia.
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very very sad, but
The guy being homeless bears no relationship to the crime. We have plenty of creeps in the library, from the well-heeled to the homeless. If an insurance exec were charged with the same crime, it is unlikely that there would be a cry from the community to keep those dangerous suit-wearing types from the library. I worry that stories like this give fuel to an unfair bias against homeless patrons. I don’t care if people are homeless, living in yurts, or members of gated communities. As long as they are using the library for its intended purpose, they are quite welcome.
Re:very very sad, but
Libraries should take action and add security to protect their patrons.
It’s true that anyone can commit a crime,and ensuring the safety of library users should be a goal for every library.
Re:very very sad, but
How? Video-cameras in the bathrooms?
Unfortunately, if someone wants to strangle a kid in the bathroom, I don’t think there is anyway to prevent it.