Police seek man who raped girl, 11, in Kensington

UPDATE:

Philadelphia Police are seeking a 'person of interest' in the brutal rape of an 11-year-old girl, according to a press release.  Police say they would like to talk to Jose Carrasquillo, 26, a white Latino with distinctive tattoos.

Carrasquillo is wanted for an unrelated contempt of court order, and there is no arrest warrant for him in connection with the rape of the girl.

Police say Carrasquillo was seen prior to the attack in the rear of the property where the girl was assaulted. They are listing him as a person of interest in the case and would like to question him.

Carrasquillo, police said, has an Asian tattoo symbol on the left side of his neck.  He has a tattoo of a skull with a cross through a heart with RIP and MOM written on it.

They are asking anyone with information to call the Special Victims Unit at (215) 685-3253, 54 or 63.

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ORIGINAL STORY:

Philadelphia police are searching for a man who they say raped an 11-year-old girl in Kensington yesterday morning while she was on her way to school.

A witness helped police develop a composite sketch of the man, who is white and in his 20s with dark hair and a thin build. He is believed to be about 5-foot-8 and has some facial hair, possibly a goatee, as well as scars on his neck, police said. He was last seen wearing a white shirt and blue-and-black baggy shorts. He left behind a pair of silver-rimmed sunglasses, which police were testing for evidence.

After undergoing surgery for her injuries, the girl was recovering in a local hospital yesterday with her mother by her side, police said.

The attack, which Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey described as "vicious," happened sometime after 8:20 a.m. The suspect saw the girl walking with a younger sibling along the 3000 block of Kensington Avenue, said Capt. John Darby of the department's Special Victims Unit.

The girl dropped off her sibling at school, then continued on the well-traveled street, which is lined with storefronts and runs beneath the El.

The man approached the girl near the intersection with Orleans Street, police said, and threatened to shoot her if she disobeyed. The man never displayed a weapon, Darby said.

The man led the girl six or seven blocks to an alley behind a house on the 2000 block of East Westmoreland Street and raped her repeatedly, Darby said.

The neighborhood would have been bustling at that time of day because many parents and children walk to local schools along Kensington Avenue, Darby said.

"This is not spontaneous," Darby said. "He actually is bold enough to walk that child blocks along a commercial and a residential area."

After the man left, the girl made her way to nearby Cornwall Street, where a passerby found her and called 911.

The man used the name Alex, but Darby said that might not be his real name.

Ramsey urged anyone who might have information to call the police, saying the attacker "is not someone we can afford to have on our streets for any length of time."

"We've got to get this guy, and we've got to get him quick," Ramsey said.

Police last night released images from a surveillance camera that shows a man they are calling a "person of interest" before the assault.

Anyone with information may call 215-686-8477 (TIPS) or 215-685-3251. The Fraternal Order of Police plans to announce today details of a $10,000 reward it will offer in the case.