CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. — A man is facing a felony charge of luring a child into a motor vehicle after he allegedly told a juvenile to get in his car.
Police say on June 21 they were dispatched to a report of an attempted child abduction in Shippensburg.
According to the police report, a juvenile said she was walking from her home to a club meeting when a white man, between the ages of 20 and 30, with brown hair, drove up in a silver car and asked her where she was going. The juvenile said she told him she was just walking and then the man allegedly told her to get in his car. The juvenile said she declined and he drove off.
A crime watch report was written on the incident.
Police say later that same day a man named Michael McCleary called into the Shippensburg Police Department and told officers he was the man driving the car and that he had asked the girl if she wanted a ride because it looked like it was going to rain.
Police spoke with a witness who provided them with photos and a video of the attempted luring. She said she noticed the incident because she thought the car stopping in the middle of the road was weird. Police were able to identify the vehicle as a gray Dodge Avenger. Police also say the witness said she did not recall it raining that day after a light drizzle.
On June 23, the juvenile was shown the photos from the incident and she was able to confirm to police that that was her and the car in the alleged incident.
That same day, police asked to speak with McCleary.
McCleary, 22, went to the police department and spoke with an officer about the incident.
He said he was driving home from work when he saw the girl walking and asked if she wanted a ride because he thought it was about to rain. McCleary also said that he drove off after she said no. He said he didn’t know the girl but thought she was his little sister’s girlfriend because they were both “mixed” and had “curly hair”, according to the police report.
McCleary also said his girlfriend sent him the crime watch article and asked if it was him.
He alleges that’s when he called the police department.
McCleary’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 18.