By John Saccenti, Staff Writer
Police officials say a 13-year-old girl who was propositioned last week to enter a stranger’s car did exactly what every youngster should do when placed in that position.
”We encourage people to have those discussions of what to do when approached by a stranger,” said Princeton Borough Police Capt. Nick Sutter. “We tell them don’t get in the car, don’t engage in a lengthy conversation with the adult. In this case the child involved did just that and walked to an adult passerby and asked for help. That was a textbook response to that situation.”
Capt. Sutter said police are still seeking a man who tried to order the girl into his black Mercedes Benz at 6:53 p.m. Sept. 10. According to police, a man driving a black Mercedes Benz with tinted windows approached the teenager near the Princeton Family YMCA on Paul Robeson Place and ordered her into his vehicle.
Police said the girl quickly walked toward an adult female passerby and asked for help. The car then drove away.
The suspect was described as a white man in his 30s with blue eyes and blondish with a shaved head. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue or green T-shirt and white sneakers. Another witness who saw the car earlier told police that there was a circular decal on the left rear of the car that read “SWIM.” The vehicle may have had a Pennsylvania inspection sticker on the windshield.
Capt. Sutter said the department takes incidents such as this very seriously, and shares whatever information it has with the Princeton Regional School District, and with law enforcement agencies across the state.
”As the investigation continues, and it’s currently very active right now, we will continue to update the public and schools and other organizations,” he said. “We have some viable leads. Quite frankly, we’re still trying to ascertain the intentions of the person involved in this situation.”
Capt. Sutter said it is important to educate children, parents and their guardians on what to do when they are approached by a stranger. With children, it can often be difficult to determine how dangerous a situation is, which is why police say they should avoid all contact with strangers.
”It’s very important that we as law enforcement work with schools and parents,” he said. “It’s a much better message to be cooperative and to share the same message, and that is that we want parents and people in the public, and children, to be aware that these things do happen, and they have to have the necessary knowledge and tools to be able to deal with them when they do.”
Capt. Sutter said last week’s incident is still under investigation and that the department will notify area departments and the school district of needed updates. In the mean time, the department is seeking information regarding the event. Anyone with information is asked to call the borough Police Department at (609) 924-4141.
[email protected].
