10-Year-Old Girl Allegedly Abducted By Ice Cream Truck Driver Manages To Break Free From Captor

A 10-year-old girl reportedly managed to break free and escape after she was allegedly abducted by an ice cream truck driver in Mariners Harbor, Staten Island, New York on Sunday, Sept. 4.

Jonathan Castro, 20, an ice cream truck driver, allegedly stopped and approached the unnamed 10-year-old victim while she was walking to a deli on Harbor Road and Forest Avenue in Mariners Harbor sometime in the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 4.

The girl told the authorities and her parents that Castro proceeded to kidnap her by allegedly grabbing her by the wrist and forcing her into the truck before driving away, the Daily News reported.

The girl was reportedly in the truck with Castro for about a mile. However, when the vehicle reached Richmond Terrace and Union Avenue at around 4:40 p.m, the minor girl somehow was able to break free and managed to escape from Castro.

She said that she ran until she found someone who let her use a phone to call her mother and reported the alleged kidnapping. Following this, the parents immediately reported the incident to the police and officers launched an investigation into the incident.

Based on the girl's complaint, law enforcement immediately began searching the area and located the truck and driver in the vicinity of Amity Place and Forest Avenue, just over one mile from the scene of the alleged incident. Castro was detained and taken into custody on Sunday night, Sept. 4.

However, after a preliminary investigation, the authorities confirmed on Monday that the girl concocted the abduction tale and that the incident was not an attempted abduction as initially reported, New York Post reported.

Based on a preliminary investigation, detectives determined that the girl made contact with the 20-year-old driver on social media. They had been messaging back and forth over social media and the pair arranged to meet on Sunday, Sept. 4.

Castro told the officers that he believed the child was older and that girl had reportedly lied about her age to him.

Following the incident, Castro was charged with endangering the welfare of a child, attempted sexual abuse, and assault.