READING, Pa. – A Mohnton man was arrested Friday for allegedly offering candy to children in an attempt to get them inside his car, the Berks County District Attorney announced.
Robert Ruhe, 66, is charged with three counts of luring a child into a motor vehicle, along with stalking and harassment charges for incidents occurring Oct. 14 in Reading and Shillington, according to the DA’s office.
Ruhe turned himself into authorities after a warrant was issued for his arrest, the DA’s office said in a release.
One of the Oct. 14 incidents happened at about 6 p.m. when a man in a white SUV approached a 15-year-old girl, who was walking near Pennsylvania Avenue and State Street in Shillington Borough, the DA’s office said.
Officials say the man allegedly stopped his car and motioned for her to approach him. When the teen continued walking, officials say the man reportedly followed her and said, “Hey baby, what are you doing?”
He then asked if she wanted to make money and commented on her walking alone, according to the DA’s new release. When the girl refused the man’s advances, he fled the area, the release said.
69 News previously spoke with the child’s mother.
Investigators say similar incidents happened that day about 20 minutes earlier in the Oakbrook neighborhood of Reading. Two girls and an adult woman were approached by a man also in a white SUV, officials said.
In one incident, the man reportedly approached two sisters — a 16-year-old and a 6-year-old — who were taking out the trash in the 1000 block of Patton Avenue.
According to detectives, the driver called out to the children, offering them candy if they got inside his car. The teenager told her younger sister to stay away and called out for their mother. The man then drove away.
The DA’s detectives worked with Shillington and Reading police to review video footage from multiple homes in the areas where the incidents reportedly occurred, officials said.
Detectives identified the suspect vehicle as a white Acura RDX with a Pennsylvania license plate. Investigators said the vehicle was leased by a Mohnton resident and was accessible to Ruhe.
Ruhe was interviewed by detectives and police, and he acknowledged driving the car in Reading and Shillington Borough, according to the DA’s news release.
Ruhe identified himself on video footage and acknowledged stopping where the incidents occurred but denied speaking to victims, the DA’s office said.
Ruhe’s preliminary hearing is set for Nov. 9.
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