The suspect is a registered sex offender with a criminal past, and has some residents raising questions about the judicial system.
72-year-old Leo Haley of Roxborough is a retired Philadelphia Police Inspector.
Police say that on October 17th at about 12:30 p.m., he attempted to lure an 8-year-old girl into his vehicle who was walking in the 7000 block of Voigt Road.
"I'm glad he's off the streets," said Commissioner Charles Ramsey. "You know child predators or predators of any kind have no place on the streets of our city."
Haley had pled guilty in January of last year of possessing child pornography in Delaware County.
He was sentenced to between 6 to 23 months, but he served only 9 months and was placed on probation.
His neighbors in the 4000 block of Lauriston in Roxborough were very upset.
"If he had been in jail, maybe this wouldn't have happen. You know-you're putting these little kids in harm's way," said Karen Higgins.
"When you have a police officer living on your street, you're supposed to feel safer, not the opposite," said Allison Schmidt. "It's really scary, especially with having all these kids on the street."
Ramsey said he did not know the inspector because Haley retired in 1996 after a 30-year career with the department, long before Ramsey arrived in Philadelphia.
"He was on the job for 30 years," said Ramsey. "How much devotion he had, I don't know. Because based on what he's done now and apparently what he's done previously, I wouldn't use the term devotion to describe him at all. He is a predator. He ought to be treated like a predator. He ought to be put in a penitentiary and he ought to stay in a penitentiary."
Haley was listed as a registered sex offender before the latest incident. He is being charged with unlawful restraint, terroristic threats, luring a child into a vehicle and harassment.
Haley was arraigned on Thursday night and bail was set at $1 million.
